Things That Go Bump In the Night
by zorradesombra
Summary: Their paths have lead Bella and Edward in very different directions since that fateful day in the forest. Bella has come into her own. Edward has been searching for her in vain. Will they be able to find each other again? Even if they do, can they deal with the challenges that those paths have created for them and will continue to create? Originally posted on Twilighted
1. A New Beginning

**BELLA**

I wipe the steam off part of the mirror. I look…well, better… but still not like I used to. It has been 84 days since he left and 56 days since my friend Jen moved to Forks. If it had not been for her I would still be a lifeless shell and completely alone. Oh well, I need to get ready for bed. I still dream about him, but I no longer wake myself up with my screaming or spend mornings curled up in my own misery nursing my crushed heart.

I get out of bed when my alarm goes off. It doesn't take me very long to get ready and head out the door. I wave at Charlie as I pass through the kitchen. Even though _he_ is not here, I still do not have to take my truck to school. Jen is always waiting for me in the driveway.

I don't remember the exact day that Jen started school because I was still in a haze. What I do remember is her kind eyes as she persisted in trying to talk to me and her patience when I could not. She turned out to be a great friend, more like a sister really. That hurt at first because it was like she was replacing Alice. But later I realized that I could deal with more than one not blood sister, even if one turned out not to want me around her anymore and had never looked back.

The thing that made me realize this was the stark differences between the two girls, the way they treat me and their personalities. Alice always took the role of the much older sister. You know, play dress up Bella and always assumed that she knew what was best for me and I had no idea. With Jen, it was more like we were twins…equals. Sure, sometimes she will take charge when I am out of my league, but we actually talk through everything.

I am lost in my thoughts as I walk over to Jen's car. I have to shake myself out of my revere to exchange the usual greetings. Today seems different, like Jen is watching me while she drives.

Jen asks me tentatively, "Bella, if a tidal wave were coming at you, would you want to know in advance or would you rather be surprised?"

"Um… I guess I would like to know the wave exists, but I don't think I would want to know when it will hit me. Why?"

"There are more mythical beings than vampires," Jen seems like she wanted to say more than that, but she doesn't go on.

"Like what?" I prompt.

"Like witches, but not like what you think of when you hear the word. I am one, I probably should have told you sooner."

I absorb that fact. Witches exist. Well, if one mythical being exists, who's to say that more do not exist? Given that one mythical being had put me in the place I was in when Jen met me, I'm surprised that she was hesitant to tell me. Of course I feel bad for putting Jen in this position in the first place. Oh wait, she doesn't really think that I won't accept her, does she? The pause stretches out much longer than it should be. Jen is fidgeting.

"I understand why you didn't tell me before, really. I'm totally fine with whatever you are," I hastily explain, trying to ease the tension. Jen looks at me skeptically.

"It's okay if you need time. I don't want you to be uncomfortable around me..."

"You can tell me anything Jen," I quickly interrupt.

"The reason I moved to Forks was because you sort of called to me. I kind of have a gift in that area. You see, when a person is about to present magical ability, they send out a sort of signal. Then, witches like me get visions of a fashion. It's like we become you for a few seconds at a time. We see what you see; hear what you hear, feel what you are feeling…"

"Wait," I interrupt again,"are you telling me that _I_ am a witch?"

"You are about to become one. Usually it doesn't take this long to present once the call goes out, but you have an unnatural ability to suppress things. Anyway, today's the day you will present."

"One more question."

"Just one?" Jen teases me.

"When you say that you felt what I felt, you mean…" I can not finish, but I know Jen understands the direction I am going in.

"Yeah, I felt your pain over Edward. I actually lived through the memory. That doesn't happen often, by the way, the whole reliving memories thing."

"What happens now? Do I have to go to some magical school?"

"You have read too many stories my friend. Since I am the one that discovered you, I will be your mentor and tutor. We can travel together for as long, or short, a time as you want. Oh, I should tell you that you will cease to age. Like vampires, witches are immortal."

"Does that mean that I have to make my family think that I have died?"

"Well, no. Whenever you are ready to leave Forks, we will have to make it to be like you never existed at all."

"How?" I am dying to know.

"Erase a few memories, alter a lot of other memories, and delete all records concerning you. A lot of detail work. Once we leave here, no mortal will be able to remember your name or face again."

I have to consider that. It will be much better for my parents to not remember me than for them to live through my death. Of course I would always remember them, and it will hurt a bit to know that they don't know me anymore, but it is hardly a sacrifice. It will be better not to be remembered. Besides I will still have Jen and maybe one day I might run across the Cullens again… I suddenly realize that I am ready to leave Forks and move on. I have caused my parents enough grief already.

"I want to leave Forks today," I announce confidently as we park at school.

Jen looks at me while she figures out how serious I am. She wants to make sure I have fully considered my choice. But then she knows how much trouble I have making decisions. She seems satisfied and yet she still gets out of the car and heads toward the office building. I have to hurry to catch up.

"We have a lot to do before we can leave," Jen explains when I catch up with her.

"Like take care of the paper trail of my life?"

"We have to completely erase your existence here. Then, we will backtrack until no human will ever be able to say that they knew you before you became a witch."

"How are we going to do that?"

"You will take care of any written record of your existence, and I do mean every single one not just the 'official' ones. I will take care of editing people's memories. After today, the human Bella will have never existed. Are you sure you are ready?"

"I'm sure. Why can't I work on memory editing?"

"You haven't presented yet, but it will happen today, and because it is delicate work, best saved for someone more in tune with their magic. Sorry."


	2. Get Over Yourself

**EDWARD**

It's been 98 days since I left her. It's been 98 days since I broke two hearts. According to my family, I look like shit. I don't talk anymore and barely leave my room. I feed and wallow, wallow a lot more, and feed very occasionally. I never told them what I said to her to make her let us go. At first, no one asked. Then they all got very openly curious. That was my own fault though. I hadn't, and still haven't, said a single word since that awful day. They don't ask anymore, but I can hear the confusion in their thoughts. How could I get so bad so fast? They wanted to know, but mostly they just wanted me to be better. I just can't live without her, but I love her too much to go back. But I really want to just throw myself at her mercy and beg her forgiveness. I just can't live without her.

**ROSALIE**

I admit it. I envy Bella because she's human. I want so much to have children. However, if I hadn't turned into a vampire, I never would have met Emmett. I hate the fact that she can bring Edward so much happiness when he has never given me that same chance. I resent her, but if it will help my brother to be whole again, I will be more civil towards her. I will make the effort to get over my feelings and hide them from my thoughts.

**EMMETT**

Man, Edward looks like shit. When was the last time he changed his clothes? Has he changed them since the day he broke poor Bella's heart "in order to save her"? Sometimes he can be an arrogant ass. Sure it's dangerous for her to be around him and the rest of us. But she loves us and is in love with him. We all love her too. Damn, he made a decision by himself when Bella should have had a say in the matter, if not all of us. I wonder how long it will take him to finally see everything is better when Bella is around.

**ESME**

I love my son, but Edward is just hurting himself. I know he had to say something that hurt Bella too. Otherwise she would never have let him go. Bella was like a daughter to me. I miss her. We all do, but only Edward can make the first step towards making this family whole again. I just hope he does it soon.

**JASPER**

My brother is an idiot. Bella made us all happier. She makes him whole. I know he doesn't want to condemn Bella to this life, but she is going to change. Alice saw it, even just after we left. Edward told Alice not to look anymore. I know it's painful for him, but that 'request' hurts Alice. I just have to remember that nothing I can say will make him feel any worse than he already does. I wish Alice would let me help him and then hit him for hurting her.

**CARLISLE**

I don't know how to help my son. Since he won't talk about it, or at all, I simply don't know the best way to be there for him. If I didn't force him to go hunting he would be worse, but he never really hunts. He only looks for what will take the edge of the thirst for a bit. I can't force him back into the world when he is so closed within himself. We never should have left Forks. Everyone could see that Bella and Edward complete each other. I wish he would just accept that. He's hurting himself and probably crushed poor, sweet, selfless Bella. I can't believe she let us go. What did he have to say to make her let us go?

**ALICE**

I can't believe Edward is being so stupid! I mean really. Clearly Bella is his life and he just needs to accept that. I saw what I saw. I really don't think he can stop that vision from coming true. Not that I can check, he 'asked' me not to look in on Bella. She was my friend and I should be able to decide if I can try and peek into her future. How dare Edward make the decision to leave without consulting us, or her! We all love her, even Rose in her own way.

I need to look. Just a quick check to make sure she is okay. That can't hurt anything, right? Carlisle did just take Edward hunting. Right this minute is the best opportunity I have to look without Edward knowing I'm looking. He would get very upset with me if he knew and Jasper already wants to hit him for hurting me by taking Bella away. Okay, I will just look to make sure she is okay. Hmm…has it been too long? I can't see her. I can't see her _at all_. Panic is starting to rise in my stomach. Jasper is beside me almost before I can register my own shift in mood. I just can't stop the panic from spreading through my entire being. He looks so concerned. It hasn't been that long. WHY CAN'T I SEE HER?


	3. Back to Forks

**EDWARD**

Life has no meaning without Bella. But if she is thriving, then my new life is worth it. It is a price I will happily pay. How can I know how she is doing? If I go back to check on her, I will never be able to leave. If I ask one of my family members to go they will. However, then I might have to explain what I said to her or allow them to hope that we can go back. I guess I could ask Alice to look into my Bella's future, but only the very near future. But if I know where she will be one day, then I don't know if I can keep myself away.

Carlisle and I go home after yet another forced hunt. My father just wants me to be happy. In order for that to be an option, I need to not starve myself. I get ready to use my voice for the first time since I used it to say terrible lies and broke the heart of my one love. However I don't have to find Alice as she and Jasper, followed closely by the rest of my family, are waiting for Carlisle and me.

Everyone's thoughts come at me in a jumble. The confusion has an edge of panic to it and that concerns me. Carlisle picks up on the mood of the room and looks to Esme. She looks very worried as her gaze flicks briefly to me. This is the point that I start to feel my own panic.

"What's going on?" Carlisle asks gently.

"I know Edward asked me not to, but I tried to look into Bella's future. Carlisle, I can't see her at all," Alice responds quickly. It is like she can't get through this fast enough.

"We haven't been gone long enough for that to happen. That concerns me," Carlisle says. His face shows that he wants to say something, but instead he looks at me. Okay, everyone is looking at me. I need to respond, but my panic is making that almost impossible.

"I need to go check on her," I finally force out. My voice is so rough from lack of use that I don't even recognize it as my own. Surprisingly, they all look relieved to hear me say that.

"Don't be stupid Edward. We are all going to check on her. Right, Carlisle?" Emmett is the first to voice what everyone is thinking.

Of course, Carlisle agrees that we all will go. I can't believe that Alice can't see Bella. Maybe now that we are entering Forks, she might have better luck. As I look at her though, I can see that Alice is getting more and more upset. Frustration and panic are vying for dominance on her face and in her mind. That is a bad sign. Now that we are in Forks, she should be able to see something.

Carlisle and Esme insist that we settle in tonight because tomorrow is a school day for Alice and me. Apparently Alice and I will be attending high school again. That will be awkward if I don't have a chance to see Bella first. After I beg and plead, Carlisle relents and goes check on Bella. However, he insists that Alice will go with me. I will take what I can get. Alice is worried about what we might find. She thinks that I will do something drastic if things are not the way that I want them to be. While she might have a valid point, I wish she would try a little to think about something else.

We make it to Charlie's house. Bella's truck isn't there. I can't smell her. Alice can't see her. Her bedroom looks like just a spare room. There is a bed, mirror, desk, and a dresser. There is nothing left of Bella's stuff. Even if she has moved in with her mother again, the room would look different and her scent would be here. It would be weak, but it would still be here. I can feel that familiar panic coursing through my veins and painted on Alice's face. Maybe we need to take a more direct plan of action to get our answers.

Alice knocks on the door and talks to Charlie while I wait. Apparently I still look like shit. However, we had to prepare for the different receptions that either of us might receive from the Chief. Hopefully Charlie will still be amiable towards Alice. Please, _please_ let him tell Alice where Bella is… and that she is totally fine. If she's fine, then I will not go after her. Okay, I will. I just can't live without her.

Unfortunately Charlie only seems to know Alice as Carlisle's adopted daughter. Worse, he informs her that he does not have a daughter. I can't believe it. He is being completely sincere. My panic is growing, even though I thought it was all-consuming before. We need to check the records at the school and hospital. I know there is nothing to be found. How can something like this be? What happened to my Bella?


	4. Quite Some Time Has Passed

**BELLA**

It has been 18,250 days since Edward left me in the forest. Despite his intentions of leaving me to live a normal, human life, I have had quite the run. You can do a lot in 50 years. I have traveled the world over with Jen. At first we were more mentor and student, but as I grew into my magic the dynamic changed to that of friends. Sure Jen can be kind of intense, but thanks to her I learned more about my magic in the last 50 years than most witches who have had their power for over a century.

The biggest change is that I am now a hunter. Okay, Jen and I hunt as a team. We also train new witches together. We hunt down the truly dark mythical beings that terrorize the humans and threaten to expose our existence to them. There are more things that go bump in the night than witches and vampires. No one gets the results that Jen and I do. The other hunters we cross paths with and the Council all say that we are the top hunters in the world. The key is probably that we enjoy our work. Our results ensure that mythical beings stay mythical to the humans. That is the way it should stay. It's the safest way for both the humans and mythical creatures as the humans can't seem to take the truth very well. Our anonymity is our greatest quality.

Sure, I still have a hole in my life that aches. That wound will never fully heal, but I have learned how to push the pain to where it is only throbbing in the background. At least I haven't seen him since that day in the forest. It would be way harder to function if I had to see him everyday, or even just occasionally.

"We don't have to do this particular hunt you know," Jen interrupts my musings.

"I will be fine, really. Besides the Council asked us to take care of it because 'we are the best' and no one else has the suicidal tendencies we have," I assure my friend.

Jen looks skeptical, but keeps any comments to herself. This hunt will drudge up some memories, so she has a valid concern. We are going up against the most irritating group to date. They are dangerous too, but the danger level does not even come close to how much they piss me off. We are going to go against the Volturi. They have been pushing their luck for awhile now. Oh sure, the Volturi claim that they keep the vampire population under hidden. However, their so called behind the scenes schemes are not subtle. The power displays are becoming more and more obvious to the general population. That is the main reason that they are going down.

Okay, I admit the Volturi have been a royal pain in the ass for a very long time. But recently the Elite Guard has been more blatant with their maneuvers. Several humans have died in rather contained locations. All of those locations are in cities. Humans may believe what they want to, but when presented with enough evidence they will pursue an answer. That was dangerous for all mythical business.

They should know better, and yet they still act out in the open. That means, now they are our problem. Lucky them. I almost hope that the Cullens are visiting when we take care of the matter. Not that I want them to get hurt, but I do want them to see what a mistake it was to decide that I was not worth their time and effort.

"I think we need to try a new method with this hunt," Jen interrupts my thoughts once more.

"What kind of method?" I want to know.

"Well, I know the Volturi and their Elite Guard annoy you. They piss me off too. I just think maybe since they toy with their own people, we should mess with them," she seems to be gauging my reactions.

"I'm in, what do you have in mind?" I can feel the wicked smile spread across my face.

"I want to pick them off one at a time at a time, starting with the Guard and ending with the three in charge," Jen is mirroring my expression.

"I like it. That way they know we are coming and that there is nothing that they can do to stop us," I like the idea more and more as I consider the possibilities.

"Exactly," Jen's smirk widens.

We iron out a general plan, along with a sizable number of contingency plans. We always have a plan, no matter what happens. There have been a few times we needed to come up with a plan on the spot. I mean, you can't plan for every single possibility. However we have learned that on the spot plans only work with a very few people as most people panic and become useless. I am slightly giddy about the fact that the vampire world will know that we can deal with the Volturi. The fact of the matter is that we can take the entire vampire world at once. But this way we can give them a taste of the fear that they love to inspire in others. Yeah, I am looking forward to this hunt, a lot. This hunt is going to be fun.

**A/N: That's it for at least tonight. We'll see how things go later in the week. Let me know what you think please. I will upload more at a time if more reviews happen. That's just the way things are.**


	5. A Little Fun With Demetri

******A/N: I own nothing of the Twilight universe, which I may have forgotten to include as a disclaimer before. Oh, well. I did get one more chapter edited. Enjoy!**

**BELLA**

We've picked off a few of the Elite Guard. Tonight's target is Demtetri and a couple new members of the guard he is training. His tracking skills don't work on us, we checked. Okay, I don't think any gifts a vampire can have work on us. Many have tried to use their gifts on us, but not one has had any affect so far. Better to be prepared for one to work than to completely discount the possibility though.

Demetri is supposedly going to track the Cullens once he makes the two new vampires run the obstacle course. I mean seriously, of all the vampires in the world, he has to be tracking them. The Volturi, in their infinite wisdom, have decided that since their guard is dwindling they need to replace them with gifted vampires that either get to join the Guard or die. However receptive the Cullens will prove to be is not something that Demetri will find out. To be honest, I can't even guess as to the answer. It's been 18, 288 days since Edward left me.

I push these thoughts away. Now is not the time for distractions. Jen and I leave a couple tracks to let Demetri know that we are coming. That knowledge adds some stress and paranoia, which leads to mistakes. We might be getting a smidgen sadistic with this hunt. But I can't say that we aren't having fun with it. Well, Jen and I are having fun anyway. We found a girl presenting magical abilities on our way to the first member of the Elite Guard we took care of. Bethany is not enjoying this. She's totally sweet, but a little jumpy. She just wouldn't stay in the safe house by herself though.

Demetri is training two new members of the Elite Guard. As far as he knows, the two members being replaced simply vanished. The Volturi are not better informed, but they are getting suspicious. Jen and I want to send a message this time. Bethany is just hoping to not get injured. She will hang back and watch. Jen thinks, and I agree, that Bethany is going to prove more talented with Healing than with Hunting. Hey, everyone has their talents. The next Healer we run across will provide Bethany with the option to go and train with them and specialize in Healing. I hope she does go with the Healer. I mean, I like the girl, but Hunting is definitely not her thing.

Our targets are getting ready to do a few runs through the obstacle course in this forest. The course itself is carefully camouflaged to not look like a training ground. They did a very good job. Anyone who didn't know what they were looking at would just see a forest. The only ones that know what if it really is are in the Volturi and us. Other vampires sometimes use this area for camping. Whenever the Cullens are in town they use this are to hunt in too. There is a group of vampires quite a ways north of us, but they are not close enough to investigate and our Seer is on personal time. It's actually a pretty large group as far as vampire groups go. There are ten of them and while they have a wide range of travel, they have not gone this far.

"Stop fidgeting please," Jen sounds annoyed, but I bet Bethany can't tell.

"Sorry," Bethany says in her small, scared shitless voice.

"As long as you stay in this tree you will be fine," I assure her

.

Bethany doesn't look convinced, but she does nod. Thankfully Jen chooses no to move to a lower branch. I follow her. We watch Demetri and his trainees come closer. The two trainees don't suspect a thing. Demetri is looking around like he thinks he's being followed. We wait for them to come into the clearing. Jen nods. I create a ring of blue flames around the clearings edge. Jen and I watch the scene below as it unfolds.

"WHAT THE HELL?" Demtetri shouts out in surprise.

The two trainees don't seem to know what to do. Demetri barks some profanities at them. The three then launches into an animated discussion. Apparently talking with your hands is a favorable quality for the Guard. Jen and I smile and somehow manage not to laugh. We let them simmer for awhile. That is until something rather surprising happens. The girl being trained proves slightly astute.

"If it's a real fire, why is nothing burning?" she asks.

"What do you mean?" Demetri responds as he goes to take a closer look.

"There's no smoke either, yet the flames radiate heat. How does that happen?" she continues like her so called teacher had not even opened his mouth.

"I told you she is too smart to be a part of the Guard," Jen says to me as we lightly jump into the clearing. I roll my eyes at her. Jen just smirks back.

"Let me assure you that those flames will consume you if you try to go through them," Jen addresses the unfortunate vampires.

"Who the hell are you?" Demetri demands.

"Wow. You know Jen, I don't think we've ever been asked that before," I snark at him. Demetri growls at me while I sneer back.

"Now, now Bella. I think we can indulge them a bit. After all we both know how this is going to end for them," Jen says calmly.

"What does that mean?" the girl asks.

"We are Hunters, darlin'. To be more precise, we are some of the best Hunters. I am not sorry to tell you that the Volturi have run out of time. All things must come to an end and all that," I inform them.

"So you are going to try and kill us," Demetri snarls as he launches himself at us.

Jen simply sighs and draws her sword. She uses it to remove Demetri's right arm just below the shoulder as she goes the one side, completely dodging his attack. He staggers back to his trainees with a look of shock on his face that is comical. The girl puts her hand in front of her fellow new member to keep him where he is. She carefully looks at us.

"This sword is infused with magic. That's what gives in the purple lines through the blade. The only reason that I am using it now is because we are not here to kill you tonight. We want you to deliver a message to your beloved bosses, therefore we need survivors," Jen explains.

"What message? I'll deliver it to the Volturi before I head back to my coven. I didn't sign on for an interspecies war," the girl comments.

"Just let them know we are coming for them. They should know what is going on then. Oh, and you are a terrible liar," Jen nods to me. I remove the flames and the vampires scamper in the right direction. Jen and I grin at each other because this is our favorite part of a Hunt.

"How many vampires does it take to deliver a message?" Bethany squeaks out, like she's afraid of the answer.

"One," Jen and I answer together. We both conjure flaming arrows. Jen's is violet while mine is sapphire. We sent them flying through the trees. All that is left are two piles of ashes.

"It's time to head on," Jen says and I know that the reason is because while we were talking to the three vampires the large group that is camping came this way and are at the edge of the clearing.

"Are you going to get out of the tree?" I ask as Bethany just looks at the ground. It takes her a moment to gather her courage and jump to the ground.

When Bethany joins us in the clearing, we take another look around the clearing and see the Cullens just staring at us in surprise. More importantly, I see a blonde vampire clinging to Edward while he holds her.

**A/N: Any thoughts on who the mysterious blonde is?**


	6. Camping

**EDWARD**

It's been 18,278 days of agony. I can't live without Bella. I can't leave this world without knowing what happened to her. I'm still empty inside, how can I not be? But I am more active. I just can't rest until I have answers. I can't believe that not one of us can find anything. I mean, it's been 50 years! Charlie doesn't know he has a daughter, let alone that she ever lived in Forks. Renée not only claims that she has never given birth to a child, but she is also more flighty. There are no records of Bella anywhere, not even online. No one at any of the schools Bella has attended has any memory of her. How can someone just drop off the face of the planet?

**CARLISLE**

My son has been running himself ragged for the past 50 years. Okay, we all have been running ourselves ragged for the past 50 years. There should be some sort of paper trail, but there isn't. People should remember Bella, but they don't. Not even her own family knew her. No one wants to stop searching. But a break is in order, even if the break only serves to provide us with a fresh perspective when we get back to the search. Tanya and her sisters have been asking us to go on a camping trip with them. That is probably a good idea. I think we will go.

**EDWARD**

Carlisle is making us go camping…with Tanya. Fantastic. I agree about the whole new perspective thing helping us look for Bella, but this trip is going to be painful. Tanya's sisters always behave themselves. In fact, it will be nice to see them again. Tanya, on the other hand, is still trying to convince me that she should be my mate. She just doesn't understand why I chose a human. She is also very vocal about how it's been so long that I should just move on. The way that she talks about my Bella is rude, and it annoys more than just me. My siblings are going to be on edge too. Tanya is too smart to say anything around Carlisle and Esme though.

**ALICE**

I can see us in the forest. We will run into Demetri training replacements for the Elite Guard. I tell Carlisle and we change locations in the forest. We will now be much farther North and will be very careful to avoid the area in my vision. The Volturi have been summoning gifted vampires to 'request' that they join the Elite Guard. Edward, Jasper, and I have not been called upon yet. What's odd is that members of the Guard have been vanishing without a trace. If the Volturi know what is happening, they aren't telling anyone. I think they are just getting paranoid though because I have had visions of us running into those members of the Guard. Okay, I had the visions before they vanished, but I still had them. I hope that Tanya relaxes during this trip. Edward can't take much more of her 'helpful' attitude. The rest of us can't take any more of her 'helpful' comments about Bella.

**EDWARD**

Call me dramatic, but I officially hate camping. Tanya makes every camping term sound vulgar. Worse, she makes everything I say into a double entendre. At least she hasn't said anything about my Bella yet. However, she has called me Eddie a few times. The irritation she is creating is drowning out some of the pain, but the emptiness is still inside me. It's only been four days. Carlisle insists that we stay another six. I have to make it. I need to know what happened to Bella.

A shout comes from the South. It kind of sounds like Demetri's voice and of course we head towards it. He might be an ass, but if he needs help we will provide it. We all run towards where the shout came from. I am in the lead both because I am the fastest and because I don't want Tanya running next to me. I have to stop short when I come upon something unexpected. Before me is a ring of blue flames that seem to go all the way around the edge of a clearing. My family catches up to me here. I can hear the confusion in all of their thoughts mirrors my own. Tanya stands next to me.

Suddenly the girl vampire with Demetri vocalizes what we are all wondering about the blue flames. Demetri once more proves that his intelligence was in no way a factor in his invitation to join the Guard. Demetri and his two companions, trainees if his thoughts are truthful, are contained within the blue flames. Tanya shifts to where she is brushing up against my side.

"Let me assure you that those flames will consume you if you try to cross them," comes an unfamiliar voice.

We all watch as two women land lightly in the clearing with the three trapped vampires. Tanya grabs my hand and I am too shocked to shake her off. One of the women, the one that hadn't spoken, turns to where I can see her profile. I stop breathing as I realize that not only do I see her face, but I recognize it like I would recognize my own face. After all these years, my Bella is standing before me. Even though my haze I hear that my family's thought echo my own. There is an exchange between Bella and Demetri, but I can't focus enough to hear the words that are being said. The woman she is with says something that makes Tanya cling to my whole arm. The flames grow and crackle too loudly for us to hear anything else that is going on inside the clearing.

Wait, it's been 50 years, yet Bella looks the exact same. She has not aged _at all_. How can that be? And why can't I hear either of their thoughts? More questions get added to my already lengthy list for her to answer. The flames vanish and Demetri and company scurry away. I just can't stop looking at her.

"How many vampires does it take to deliver a message?" comes a hesitant voice from a tree on the other side of the clearing. There is a third member of Bella's group that I had not noticed before she spoke. Weird, I can't hear her thoughts either.

"One," Bella and the other woman on the ground answer together. That other woman seems to be the leader of the group. They do something and then suddenly they each launch a flaming arrow. Bella's is blue, the other one is purple. The end result is Demetri, minus an arm, runs alone while his two trainees are reduced to piles of ashes. Tanya throws her arms around my neck and I wrap my arms around her waist. I know that I shouldn't do this, but my actions are more a reflex than a controlled movement so I can't stop myself.

The girl from the trees joins Bella and the leader on the ground with a shaky landing. They turn to glance in our direction. Bella's eyes narrow as she sees Tanya in my arms. Shit. This looks very different than how things actually are between Tanya and me. Before anyone can say anything, the three of them just vanish. I throw Tanya off and run into the clearing with my family close behind me. The only scents in the clearing are from vampires. I can't smell Bella anywhere. My frustration grows and when Tanya tries to grab for my hand again I lash out.

"I will never be your mate! And now you have ruined what should have been a happy reunion with my only love! Just stop trying to get what you can't have! All I am to you is a challenge!" I can't stop the words from pouring out, and I don't want to stop them. Tanya deserves this and worse.


	7. Family Time

**ALICE**

I can't believe we finally found Bella! And when we weren't even trying to! I wonder who she's with. Once the flames vanish the Bella and her friend take care of Demetri's trainees. Bella can kill vampires? Wow, she is strong and sends off confidence like she has come into her own. I wonder why I didn't see this in our future. Finally she turns…her eyes narrow at Edward…SHIT! Edward is holding Tanya. I knew she would try stuff on this trip, but honestly. I can't blame Edward for his outburst. I want to yell at her too. When will we see Bella again? Ever?

**ROSALIE**

Shit. Tanya is clinging to Edward. Edward, like the pain that he is, is holding Tanya. Bella sees it. Then she is gone. No scent, no trail of any kind to follow. I hope Edward doesn't relapse into his previous state of wallowing. Does he not know how annoying that is? Edward is now yelling at Tanya. I might 'accidentally' take off her arm the next time we spar. She should count herself lucky if she only loses an arm this time.

**ESME**

Oh my…I know Edward feels that he should always be a gentleman, but I would have thought that he would also realize how this looks. Bella's eyes narrow at him as she comes to the very obvious looking conclusion. Bella vanishes as quickly as she came into the clearing. Edward starts yelling at Tanya. He can't seriously think that only she is to blame for this mess, right? Sure, she is a little forward towards him, but Edward was the one who put his arms around her. I'll have to speak with him later about his dreadful behavior.

**JASPER**

I can't feel them, any of the three girls. It's like they aren't even here. And they can kill vampires. Well, Bella and the one can. I think the girl in the tree is a recent addition to their group. Demetri and the other two vampires were completely terrified, well Demetri still is. That one girl took off his arm with what looks like a sword with decorative purple lines on the blade. It must be a special kind of sword to inflict damage on a vampire. I can't hear a heartbeat from any of the girls either. That is strange. They look like they have blood circulating…

Shit! Edward once more proves that he is an idiot. I mean seriously, why would he encourage Tanya? Not only is he holding her, but Bella sees them looking like they are together. Of course he is surprised when they all vanish. Alice is confused. I wonder why she didn't see this happening. There is no way to track Bella. She didn't leave a trail of any kind, not even her scent. Even if we could follow her, should we? She acts like she's grown a lot and she seems attached to the girl with the sword. If her life is on track, should we even try to interfere?

**EMMETT**

Damn…Bella just took out a vampire. I'll have to be careful about how much I tease her when we are all together again. I didn't even notice the girl in the tree before she spoke. Come on Bella, look this way. Oh yeah, her head is turning and…SHIT! Edward, you ass, don't be a player. Tanya is way too irritating to be your girl. Rose might kill her. I would think the same thing if I were Bella. How did she just disappear? Oh well, we can just track her…or not. Where's her scent? It was so strong before.

It serves Tanya right. Her meddling might cost us Bella. She seemed to have grown into her own, calm even. It was like she was in her element. If Edward hits Tanya, Esme and Carlisle will be pissed. Tanya's sisters already look pissed.

**CARLISLE**

Bella certainly has become powerful in her own right. Maybe that will convince my son of his folly in leaving her. Her friends present an unforeseen factor in making our family whole again. I can't believe we didn't think about her making a new life and possibly becoming part of a family of sorts. It's not like she would just wander around alone and consumed with her grief over Edward. She seemed to be in here element. Maybe going after her isn't what's best for her anymore. We will have to discuss these new developments as a family.

Why is Bella looking at Edward that way? Oh…I see…not the brightest move son. I'm sure Tanya needs comforting after just witnessing the ease in which Bella and one of her companions snuffed those vampires out of existence, but to hold her like that implies that you chose her. No wonder Bella and those other girls are gone, literally without a trace. I wonder when the next time our paths will cross again.

I can't believe Edward is denying his own responsibility in this mess. He is upsetting Esme with his unruly behavior. I can see we will need to have a chat about this as well. Tanya might have been forward, but Edward did not stop her. I know he is just lashing out. I think it's time that all the facts are known to the entire family, not just Edward. He might not want to talk about the day he left Bella, but we need to know. Bella could still react towards any of us based on what Edward said to her that day. We need to be prepared for such a reaction.

**ALICE**

I see a family discussion. Okay, looking at Carlisle I don't need the vision to tell me that. I see Edward…fabulously reacting to something. I should give Jasper the heads up so that he is prepared to deal with it before things get out of hand. Let's try for a vision about Bella…nope, nothing. I still can't see her. More worrisome is that I can't see us with her. It's like we continue our lives and she never enters them again. I need to think.

Maybe it has to do with whatever Bella is now. In my vision where we run into Demetri, he asks Edward, Jazz, and I to join the Elite Guard. He had both arms in that vision. But I am looking at one of his arms in the clearing. Suddenly it bursts into violet flames and a strong wind takes away all three piles of ashes. Hmmm…I am still seeing two arms when we run into him again. I wonder if I only see things the way that they would be if Bella and her friends don't interfere. I only see things the way they would be if Bella and her friends didn't exist. That would only make sense if they are some kind of immortals. I can't see werewolves, Caius asked me to try once. I can't see those tribe members that transform into horse sized wolves back in Washington, Carlisle asked me to try. With the tribe members, if they got too close I couldn't see anything at all. I've never been close enough to a real werewolf to see if they affect my visions. It would seem that different kinds of immortals affect my ability to have visions in different ways. They have to be immortals, but what kind of immortals are they? If Bella is immortal, then that means that Edward doesn't have to watch her change in order to be with her forever. That is, if she takes him back.


	8. The Time Warp

**BELLA**

I knew Edward would fine someone. He didn't love me. Okay, he never loved me. And now I get the joy of seeing him holding a blonde vampire…and not moving. None of the vampires are moving.

"That's disorienting," Jen states calmly.

"What just happened?" Bethany asks. She sounds scared. I shake myself out of my haze.

"Well, you put this area into a temporary shield that stops the passage of time," I explain to her.

"…what?" Bethany now sounds _really_ upset.

"There is nothing wrong to be upset about darlin'. You haven't fully grown into your powers. You also don't have enough training to have the discipline needed to control your powers. It happens to all of us. When I first presented I accidentally blew up my father's police cruiser. You want to talk about a mess. Compared to that, this is nothing," I try to assure.

"Yeah, that was a mess, but it was so funny," Jen laughs. I can't hold back my own giggles either, but Bethany does not look amused.

"I'm still confused. Like a time warp? That sounds complicated to me. How did I do that?" Bethany stutters.

"Okay, I told you that I think you might specialize in Healing, right?" Jen asks.

"Yeah…" Bethany tentatively answers.

"There are a few reasons I feel that way. One of them is because you have a heightened ability to feel other people's pain, which is a good quality for a Healer. Bella was suddenly faced with the love of her life holding another woman. You could feel her pain before it even registered with either of you. Your magic reacted and this time warp was created to help Bella avoid the pain of talking to the ass that broke her heart," Jen carefully explains.

Damn. She's right. I was completely caught off-guard. The shock of seeing them all again masked my pain at seeing Edward holding another woman. Now they all stand frozen in time…at least until Bethany gets so far away from the clearing. I don't have to have the awkward conversation that was about to happen. That's a relief. However, now I am faced with a jealousy that borders on hatred of the blonde vampire. Jen senses the change in my mood and looks at me. All I can do is glare at the 'happy couple.'

"Bethany, you need to be a ways away for time to resume. Bella will go with you and you two will wait for me," Jen says with authority.

"You're not coming with us?" Bethany's pitch gets higher and higher.

"She needs to take care of the arm and the piles of ashes. Hunters don't leave a trace unless it's someone to deliver a message," I explain as I try to shake off the jealousy that was growing in me.

"Oh, okay…we'll see you soon?" Bethany asks.

"Definitely. All I have to do is burn the arm and blow away the ashes. I'll do it from a tree so they won't see me, and then I will follow you, erasing any trail you may inadvertently leave," I can't tell If Jen is trying to soothe Bethany or me…maybe both of us.

Bethany and I head off. We make it to the edge of the forest and stop to wait for Jen. Bethany fidgets and looks like a kid that was caught with its hand in the cookie jar. It only takes a few moments to meet up with us. We move in silence until we reach the safe house. This area's safe house is more like a huge private estate. The house is really a mansion. There is a state of the art security system too, not that we need it. We use alternative forms of protection. None of us talk, even as we enter the mansion. Then Bethany tries to apologize. Jen and I assure her that is was not a problem.

"So… how does one do a time warp?" Bethany finally asks the question she's been dying to since the clearing. Jen and I look at each other and grin mischievously.

"Well," Jen starts," it's just a jump to the left."

"And then a step to the right," I add in a serious voice that Bethany does not seem to buy.

"Put your hands on your hips," Jen continues.

"And bring your knees in tight," I can't hold back and my grin gets bigger and bigger.

"Do the pelvic thrust 'til it drives you insane," Jena and I sing together," Let's do the time warp again!"

"I can't believe you guys sometimes. What are you two, like twelve years old?" Bethany tries to sound like she's in a huff, but she joins in our giggles.

We watch _The Rocky Horror Picture Show_ and our laughter fills the rest of the night. This kind of thing always makes Bethany feel better. She really gets depressed whenever Jen and I have to take a life…existence…whatever. She understands the reasons that Jen and I do what we do, but she doesn't like it. So, Jen and I try to ease her discomfort after a hunt.

Jen's phone rings and she takes the call in another room. I hope it is Eliot. Jen hasn't heard from her husband in a couple days. That's not unusual when he's on an undercover assignment for the Council, but they get kinda down whenever they don't at least hear each others voice for awhile. They both hide it well, of course, but I have been with them for a long time. At first it was hard to be around them as they are really and truly in love with each other, but I never wanted them to be apart because watching them was hard for me. Just because I missed out on true love doesn't mean that everyone else should, especially those two. They deserve the happiness they bring each other.

Eliot is a hunter, like us. In fact, when this assignment is over, he will be joining us. That means that our team will be even more solid. Jen and I are good, but with Eliot and Dakota we really are the best. They both should be joining up with us about the same time. As this hunt continues, more and more people will want to join our team. Normally Jen and I would shy from creating too big a team, but there are a lot of Guard members and other things that need to be taken care of. So, more mythical beings will join up with us as they are able to. Who are we to turn down people who are invested in taking down the Volturi? They have made a lot of enemies in the mythical world and they will get more and more possessive about their information as we take out more and more of their precious Elite Guard.

"Our Seer informs me that someone will join us tonight. Dakota can't see who they are, but she does see you opening the door," Jen tells me as she enters the room.

I wonder who will be coming. So, Dakota sees me opening the door tonight. That's not really unusual. She can't see who they are. That means that they are mythical, but not a witch. Hmm…there are just too many possibilities. I guess I will have to wait until they get here. Suddenly a howl rings out through the night, a howl that I would recognize anywhere. Jacob Black.


	9. Closure

**BELLA**

"Heya Bells!" Jacob's booming voice preceded him to the door.

"Jake! Where's Nestalia? I never thought I'd see the day when you two would be separated on a journey. Especially since you just got married like ten months ago," I greet my old friend.

"Nessie's coming. She wanted to race, thought she could beat me here," he explains as he enters the mansion.

"Hey Jacob," Jen takes the bear hug Jake gives her with an amused smile.

"Heya Jen! Did I beat Eliot here?" Jacob asks while he tries to peer into the game room.

"You sure did. Now you will have to wait for your video game fix because Bella and I need to discuss something. Of course, you are more than welcome to join us if you want," Jen gives me a meaningful look. I'm not getting out of this one.

"What's the topic? Anything I might know something about?" Jake's curiosity is evident.

"Nothing terribly interesting for you, I'm afraid. It's just a bit of girl talk really," I try to brush it off as I head for the hallway.

"We ran into the Cullen family and Edward was holding a blonde vampire," Jen rats me out like the stupid great friend she is.

"WHAT?" Jacob stares at me until I have to look away.

"So…are you going to join us or would you rather sit with Bethany and make her even more jumpy than the sweet girl already is?" Jen smile sweetly at me while she inquires of Jacob.

"You had better believe that I want to join in," Jacob follows us into a sitting room. I catch a glimpse of Bethany curled up with a book in the game room as we walk by. I wish we could somehow trade places.

"Now Bells…" Jake starts.

"Hold up Fido," Jen interrupts and Jake looks appropriately penitent for trying to start the conversation before her.

"I don't want to talk about it," I try in vain.

"Too bad. We need to discuss this," Jen pushes. I know she won't let this go, so I cave.

"Yeah Bells, how does this make you feel?" Jake asks and both Jen and I turn to look at him incredulously.

"Been watchin' Dr. Phil again, Jake?" Jen can't help but ask.

"I can be a very sensitive guy. Just ask Nessie," Jake feigns indignation.

"The apparently sensitive wolf asks a good question," Jen says as she turns her full attention back to me.

"Thank you," Jake interjects.

"Okay, it _was_ kinda heart-wrenching at first. Then I felt really jealous of that blonde bitch. It was really more borderline hatred than jealousy. I expected the pain to completely consume me again because I could see that he didn't love me…but it didn't," it all comes out in a rush.

"I bet it did hurt. That jealousy is completely natural too," Jake says when I take a breath.

"Wait, the pain didn't take over. I could still function," I respond.

"Hmm…you didn't really miss a beat. There was that brief moment where the initial shock of course. But you accepted that I would clean up and got Bethany to a safe place. Why do you think that is?" Jen asks me this like she has a theory but doesn't want to influence my answer.

"Maybe because I've kinda kept living my life? Seeing Edward holding another woman showed me that he has moved on. I guess I always sorta thought that one day he would come back to me, yet I'm not devastated," I am really just thinking out loud at this point.

"So seeing him showed you that you don't love him anymore?" Jake asks wishfully.

"So the sensitive part of you has a short attention span Fido. That is not what she is sayin at all," Jen rolls her eyes at him.

"I will always love him. Seeing him holding that vampire gives me a sense of closure. I can finally just remember my love for him. The pain is finally gone," I explain to my adorably dense friend.

"I'm very proud of you Bella," Jen hugs me.

Later, when I'm in my room, I fully consider that discussion. I can't believe it. The pain that was always a part of my existence since that day in the forest simply no longer exists. I still love him, of course. Like I told Jacob, I will _always_ love Edward. But now, I don't feel the pain. It's not like I'm just numb to it or have gotten so used to it that I can't feel it anymore. It really is gone. I actually feel lighter. I know that I will be very…serene… the next time I run into the Cullen family. But who knows when that will be. It took 18,288 days for it to happen the first time. And now he might try to avoid me because he will feel awkward.

I can't sleep…might as well get some snackage. I run into Jen in the kitchen. We smile at each other and reach for our respective snack choices. It just so happens that we both hold a special place in our hearts for monster themed cereal. Jen likes the strawberry kind. I like the chocolate kind. Now that I think about it, Eliot likes monster themed cereal too. He likes the blueberry kind. There is always a supply in the safe houses when we get there. It's good that the council likes us enough to do that.

"Where are Jake and Bethany?" I ask when we are both munching happily.

"Nestalia got quite the greeting from Jacob when she arrived. They are in their room doing what newlyweds do. Bethany headed for bed when she finished her book," Jen explains.

Now we munch in relative quiet. I love the fact that Jen and I can do this. We don't have to fill the silence. We talk when we need to. We talk a lot when we just want to. But when one, or both, of us just need to think with someone else there, we are completely comfortable with the silence. Suddenly it hits me.

"Have you heard from Eliot today?" I feel like an ass for not asking earlier. I know how much she misses him.

"Yeah. He'll join us in a couple days," Jen grins like a fool in love.

"Perfect timing," I comment.

"We'll get a couple days before we have to go and finish the job," Jen happily states.

"Demetri won't see us coming…again," I grin back at her and we both burst into giggles.


	10. Family Discussion

**EDWARD**

I guess I knew this day would come eventually. I had kinda hoped that, by some miracle, it wouldn't though. But, alas, it has. The family discussion about that day in the forest is happening. It has taken 18,292 days to get to this point. I had thought that they would drag it all out of me after Bella's disappearing act. Fortunately, they waited until we got home, or rather got away from our camping companions. Speaking of, they had gone with us most of the way home. They were all apologies, especially Tanya. Luckily, she kept her distance. That is until the day that her sisters decided it would be best for them to go their own way. Coincidently, that was also the day that she tried to talk to me alone.

My entire family is staring at me. It seems that not a single one of them knows exactly how to start. Carlisle takes an unnecessary breath. But before he can even open his mouth I completely cave. I tell them all about how I wrote the note for Charlie to find. I tell them how I convince Bella to go for a walk with me in the woods behind her house. I tell them everything I said. I told her we were moving on. She misunderstands at first. She sincerely dismissed the episode with Jasper. She told me her soul was already mine. I told her that I didn't want her to go with us. I told her I don't want her. I told her I didn't love her. I told her she wasn't good for me. I told her we were moving on to other distractions. I made her promise not to do anything reckless. I told her she would forget. I promised she would never see me again.

My family is utterly quiet. No one is even breathing. I can't bring myself to look at them. I can't bear to look at myself, how can they. I understand. I am such an ass.

**CARLISLE**

He…told her…that he didn't love her. I have to convince myself that he is telling the truth. No wonder he didn't talk for so long. Now I can fully understand his reluctance to tell us what happened. He also told her that he didn't want her too. He implied that the family didn't want her when he told her we were leaving without her. Bella must think that we abandoned her and never looked back like she was unworthy in our eyes. And we reinforced that belief everyday that we were gone, everyday that we didn't contact her. We're lucky she didn't strike us down a long time ago. I know my son has been hurting, but how could he be so cruel?

**JASPER**

Bella dismissed my indiscretion on her birthday. She didn't fault me for my nature. That's further proof of how good Bella was. She was way too good for Edward. I can see that in his leaving her. She must have been devastated. Yet she didn't strike at any of us. She rightfully thinks that we all consider her unworthy of our time, beneath us…

**EMMETT**

I can't even wrap my mind around it. I could never do anything like that to my Rosie. If I were Bella, I would beat the shit out of Edward. Hell, I might beat the shit out of Edward anyway. Lying to sweet Bella like that was just shitty. I'm not even sure I can call him brother anymore. Okay, I don't really mean that. That doesn't mean that he's not pissing me off though.

**ESME**

Oh my…poor Edward. He had to lie to the love of his existence. Poor Bella…I wish we had known earlier. We could have contacted her right away and…I don't know what we could have done. I never thought Edward would be so cruel, especially to sweet Bella. I know he thinks that he did what he did for her own good. I was under the impression that he had at least discussed our leaving with her before he told us that we needed to move on. That was bad form, my son. I only hope that Edward gets the chance to rectify his outrageous lies.

**ROSALIE**

He did not tell Bella that. Okay, that's it. Now I will make it my mission to help Bella make Edward work for it. That is, of course, _if_ she takes his sorry ass back. I wouldn't if I was her. How can he claim to love and the pull that? If that's how he shows affection, then I am so very thankful that we are not mates. Emmett would never do such a thing to me. _He_ knows better.

What was Edward hoping to accomplish? I mean really. His moping has been severely irritating. He became completely obsessed. That obsession has meant that Emmett and I haven't gotten to have another honeymoon in over 50 years. That makes me cranky. When I'm cranky, I tend to make an effort to make those around me miserable to pass the time. I just decided to make Edward my main focus. He had better be fully prepared. Actually, he should thank me. Edward deserves much worse.

**ALICE**

…speechless… Edward had rendered me _very_ briefly speechless. I can't believe he went that far. Bella deserves better. He made her feel worse than worthless. Not to mention, the damage he has done to himself. He might have ruined any chance they have of being together. I hate to even consider that, but I am forced to. She seems to have a new family. What if she's found another man? A man that treats her right? That would devastate Edward, not that he doesn't deserve that.

She thinks we consider her a complete waste of our time and effort. What if she's replaced all of us? I don't know what I would do in her position. I've missed her everyday. Has she missed me? I need to tell her Edward lied to her. Okay, maybe he should be the one to do that. But I should tell her that he had no right to speak for Jazz and me. I will tell her how long we have been searching for her. She'll have to forgive me. Then things will go back to normal. What if she asks about those months between when we left and when we started looking for her? What can I tell her? What if she doesn't let me talk to her at all?

**EDWARD**

My family's thoughts are jumbled, but they have the same themes. First, there's the disbelief. Then, there is a very brief wave of pity for me. Of course, after that comes the sympathy for my Bella. Finally, the anger at my lies and implications shines through. Rose is wrong though. She can't make me any more miserable than I made myself. Jasper's relief at Bella's completely sincere dismissal of her birthday only serves to reinforce my self-loathing. Alice is concerned about a very valid point. What if Bella has replaced us? What if she moved on like I asked her to, but secretly hoped she wouldn't?

We all talk some more. The anger and name-calling of my siblings are overshadowed by the quiet disappointment of Carlisle and Esme. We unanimously decide that, if nothing else, I need to explain my lies to Bella. If she never wants to see any of us again, so be it. If she is open to us sticking around for awhile, only then will I stay. Of course, part of that is accepting whatever it is that she has become. We will also accept her new life and new friends. Hopefully, they will accept us too. I wonder how much she has told them about us.

The first step towards that reunion is going to be hard. Somehow we have to be in the same place, at the same time again.


	11. A Little Training

**BELLA**

Since we have some time to kill, Jen and I decide to tackle a large training thing with Bethany. We want for her to learn a little more control. She needs to learn a little more control. As new age as it sounds, the best way to accomplish this is meditation. She needs to be more balanced emotionally to avoid accidental discharges of her magic.

"Meditation?" Bethany almost doesn't believe us.

"Meditation," Jen and I say with authority.

"You're serious?" Bethany persists.

"As an outbreak of the plague," Jen answers.

"You need to find a way to even out your emotionally responses," I explain.

"I don't understand. You guys show emotion, why can't I?" Bethany holds her ground.

"The use of meditation is almost strictly a training tool," I'm getting a little frustrated at this point.

"Bella and I have developed the discipline needed to control our magic. Of course, accidents can happen. They are just much less likely for us. And we don't want you to be devoid of emotion, we want to you be able to reign your emotional reactions is before your magic discharges unintentionally," Jen is very patient, as always.

"Unintentionally using magic is very dangerous. I don't just mean for those around you, but also for yourself. Remember that I told you I accidentally blew up my father's police cruiser? That was within a week of me presenting. Fortunately, we were all inside the house and there was no one on the street. But someone could have easily been near the cruiser, or even in it, and they would have at the very least gotten some very serious burns. Your time warp was benign, but that discharge could have just as easily been violent," I carefully inform Bethany.

"You need to understand how serious this is," Jen adds.

"I do," Bethany responds in a quiet voice.

"Like Bella told you, meditation is just a training tool. Eventually, you won't need to do it very often at all. Maybe during particularly emotional periods in your life, you will feel like you need the boost in control that meditation offers," Jen starts the lesson.

"At first though, you will need to devote at least an hour a day to meditation," I continue.

"Is there a special way to do that?" Bethany asks.

"No, you can meditate in whatever way you are comfortable. I like to do Tai Chi when I meditate. Bella likes to sit in a tall tree or on a rooftop while she meditates. You just need to be able to center yourself in whatever method you choose," Jen answers.

"How will I know how to center myself?" Bethany is fully immersed in the lesson.

"You need to go on a spirit quest," Jake interrupts in what he considers his spooky voice. Nestalia actually looks a little pained.

"Does your tribe even do spirit quests, Jake?" I ask in between my giggles.

"Well, no…but I don't think witches need do all that for their training," Jake tries to have input.

"And you are one to tell others that there should be no control over emotion, Fido," Jen inputs as she giggles with me.

"Hey!" Jake tries to sound indignant.

"Don't listen to the oaf," Nestalia tells Jen.

"I knew you guys were messing with me," Bethany, unlike Jake, actually pulls off indignant.

"We are not," I shoot a glare at my idiotic friend who has terrible timing with his jokes around Bethany.

"Believe me when I tell you that _every_ witch has had to learn this," Jen assures our student.

We go through the first few steps with Bethany. Take deep, even breathes. We demonstrate how you sort of go into yourself, shutting out the rest of the world. We prove that you can meditate in whatever method you are comfortable with. Nestalia drags Jake back to when his laughter can't be contained anymore. Bethany finally gets comfortable. Jen and I leave her to her meditation.

Later, Bethany asks us why we didn't oversee her meditation. I inform her that it is her own responsibility to meditate. Jen informs her that we will know if she doesn't keep up with it. Bethany is persistent. She wants to know if that is because we really will be watching her. Does Jen look like her mother? Do I look like her mother? If she doesn't meditate, then she will have more and more accidental discharges of her magic.

While Jen is on the phone with Eliot, Jake asks Bethany and me to join him and Nestalia in a game. We agree and all head to the game room. Jake refuses to tell us what game he has chosen to play. All Nestalia knows is that is it a board game. That is odd because Jake is usually all about the video games. When Jake presents the game that he has already set up, Nestalia and I groan in unison. We should have seen this coming. Well, Nestalia and I should have totally seen this coming. Bethany just met Jake ant therefore does not really know why this could be painful. Jake wants to play Monopoly.

Don't get me wrong. Normally, I like Monopoly. However, whenever you play Monopoly with Jake, it is _always_ an adventure. I mean a really, really _long_ adventure. Jen, Nestalia, and I tried to instill a time limit for turns once. Yeah, that didn't work out. Jake can be such a whiner when he feels he is being discriminated against by us. This game is apparently a challenge for him, to see how long he can go. Poor Bethany looks horrified and no one has even made it around the board the first time. Nestalia and I settle in. The two of us know that we don't have to pretend. We act exactly as bored as we feel.

Nine hours have passed. Jake is just starting to get bored. This is a new record for how long Jake can make a game last. We finally just agree to throw everything into the middle and have the next person who lands on Free Parking declared the winner. Luckily, that player turns out to be Bethany. We clean up the game.

I head off in search for Jen. She was smart to avoid the game room. Jake can suck anyone in with his big puppy dog eyes. Surprisingly, Jen is still on the phone. Now she is talking to our Seer, Dakota. I get a chance to talk to Dakota before she has to hang up. Then, Jen and I head to the massive library that is hidden in this mansion. It's a good thing that we know where it is. Otherwise, the search would take longer than a game of Monopoly with Jake, and be just as productive. Armed with the information our Seer just supplied us with, Jen and I set out to make our plans. Demetri has served his purpose. We will finish him off before we move on to another member of the Elite Guard. Jake passes through with Nestalia. They know better than to be distracting during Jen's and my strategy sessions. One of the reasons for this is that, as witches, Jen and I can talk to each other telepathically. That means that part of our discussions during our strategy sessions are in our minds, completely silent to those around us.


	12. Separate Paths

**BELLA**

Eliot gets here alright. Jen is very happy to see him. I am too, of course, but not as happy as his wife. They are too cute. I can't help but smile as they hold hands and gaze at each other. They have been together for centuries and they still act like teenagers. Whenever they are together, they are always holding hands or have their arms around each other. I am truly happy for Jen. But that doesn't stop me from wondering if I will ever have that? After Edward, can I ever have that?

Dakota arrives a little later. She is happy to be home I point out that we are in a safe house. She tells me that home is with us. I agree. I would be lost without Jen, Eliot, and Dakota. Okay, Jake and Nestalia too, I guess. Usually it's just Jen, Dakota, and me though. Often Eliot too, but he's not with us always. The council frowns upon married teammates. Dakota introduces herself to Bethany. Bethany is, of course, acting shy. Thos two will be great friends though, provided that we don't run into a healer very soon. Our Seer won't rest until they are.

"You guys up for a game?" Jake asks us all.

"My turn to pick," announces Nestalia. Jake is crestfallen.

"Okay," Eliot and Jen answer in stereo.

"Why not?" I sigh at Jake's antics.

"Umm…" Bethany stalls.

"We will have loads of fun," Dakota informs us. That ends the discussion and we all head into the game room.

**EDWARD**

How will we know where Bella will be? Carlisle says that Bella and that other girl wanted Demetri to deliver the message that they are going after the Volturi. So… any of the Elite Guard could be their next target. Jasper thinks about things tactically. He comes up with Demetri. The theory is that Bella and that girl left him alive so that he could deliver their message, therefore when the message has been delivered he will have outlived his usefulness. They might go back and finish the job before moving on, or they might wait. But they will come back for him. They have a plan of action, their method is so deliberate. I agree with my brother, Demetri is our best shot. They will have to come back to him eventually.

The Volturi are very anxious. We don't actually go to their residence as they might try to make Jasper, Alice, and I an offer with no chance of our refusal. We _are_ in their city though. Demetri hasn't left the Volturi's residence since he lost his arm. At least, that's the story that is going around. Things could be worse I guess. I'm just glad we finally have a plan of action. When Bella and that girl go for Demetri, we have a shot at running into them on their way out of town.

Actually, it's kind of amazing that we have heard anything about Demetri at all. The Volturi have gotten very quiet. They also are being very careful about any information that leaves their presence. Carlisle thinks that they know what Bella is. As far as I know, the Volturi have never even hinted at the existence of other kinds of immortals. It's entirely possible that they do know though. I mean, let's face it, the Volturi are not known for their generosity with anything, especially information. If they do know what Bella is, then they might also know any limitations there might be to her immortality. I wish I could be there with her, just in case.

**BELLA**

The coward is trying to hide behind mommy's skirts. What Demetri doesn't know is that he isn't any safer with the Volturi than he would be anywhere else. He is just making it more fun for us. Jen and I can get to him easily enough, but where's the fun in that? Since we have to go in anyways, why not mess with the Volturi while we are there?

We settle into the new safe house and wait for Dakota to arrive. She took a detour to do whatever it is that she does when she takes a detour. We each get our own space, we are adults after all. Jake and Nestalia are christening their new bedroom. Bethany is being diligent with her meditation. Jen and Eliot are sitting very close together on a couch in the playroom and are talking quietly. I get a chance to read more of _Gone with the Wind_. I only have 120 pages left. I hope I can finally finish it. It's starting to feel like I started reading it in a different life. Okay, it's only been a few months. How sad is it that I am still reading it? I mean, I really can't stand Scarlett. She's one of the main characters. And I can't stand her, _at all_. Yet I keep on reading. Why? Because I already invested about 900 pages of reading, I have to finish now. Even if Scarlett pisses me off.

Dakota arrives, thankfully, after I finish the book. We all catch up. Then, we set up for the next day. It is decided that, while probably unnecessary, we want to do a little recon work. Hopefully, they have joined this century and now use computers to keep track of their people. That way we can hack into their system and have a more exact idea of where to find our targets will be. I know their human secretary…Gina, I think…has a computer at her desk. She might prove helpful, even if she was just recently hired.

**EDWARD**

It's official, this waiting is killing me. I thought it was bad not knowing anything, but this is worse. There she was…and I blew it. Now I get the added pleasure of explaining Tanya after I convince Bella that I lied. Fantastic. At least I have the possibility of seeing her again. I was so stupid. What if she doesn't even let me try to explain? What if she is going to avoid me for eternity? She did a great job for over 50 years. It would be no more than what I deserve.

Alice and Rosalie are making it clear that they are on Bella's side if a fight breaks out. A verbal fight of course, I would never be able to hit my Bella. I expected as much. They have every right to choose her side. Emmett and Jasper are less vocal, yet no less adamant, about the matter. You should never go against your mate. Carlisle and Esme will help, if they can. Not one of us knows how this whole thing will play out. Most of the possibilities are not good for me.

We have been scouring the forest surrounding the city for hours. I think that I know where they will go through on their way out of town. Jasper and Carlisle agree with each other on the fact that it's not on the quickest route out of town. Alice just keeps looking at me. Esme, Rosalie, and Emmett are on their way here. I can hear the confusion in everyone's thoughts. Everyone's except Alice's, that is. I can't get a hold on what exactly she is thinking around everyone else's thoughts. I don't even know what she's doing. I know this is the right place. Maybe it's instinct or maybe it's desperation. Suddenly, Alice goes to a log on the edge of the clearing and sits down. Now all there is to do is wait.


	13. More Time With Demitri

**BELLA**

"Why can't I come too?" Bethany whines.

"Look darlin', there are many things that you are good at. But stealth is not one of them," Jen explains as gently as she can.

"I need to learn sometime," Bethany persists.

"Not when we are actually _on_ a mission," I sigh at her.

"But…but…" Bethany actually starts hiccupping while her eyes water.

"Not happening. I'm sorry, but you can't change our minds on this one," Jen tells our apparently five year old student.

Bethany pouts as Jen and I prepare to do our recon run. Dakota tries to comfort her to no avail. Jake and Nestalia try to cheer her up with little in the area of results. If she wants to act like a spoiled child, let her. Jen and I are not moved by antics. She is just not ready for this kind of work. I think Jen's starting to get annoyed. Bethany is behaving ridiculously. She can't say anything if her jaw is wired shut. I'm just sayin'. But Jen won't let me punch her, so we just have to deal with it.

"Meditate," I bark at Bethany.

"I already have today," She protests.

"Apparently not enough," Jen states quietly. She is most dangerous when she uses that voice.

"If you are going to act like this, then we need to hold off on the rest of your training until you have matured some more," I add.

"Is that supposed to be, like, some kind of threat?" Bethany asks in a huff.

"It's a statement of a fact," Jen growls at her. Bethany's eyes get really wide at Jen's tone.

Bethany stomps off. That is unusual behavior for her. Jen and I will have to look into it when we get back. Dakota is way ahead of us though and is already following Bethany. Eliot kisses Jen as we head out the door. Jake tries to pinch my side, but both Nestalia and I smack his hand. Jake sticks out his bottom lip. Nestalia shakes her head at her husband. I roll my eyes at him. Jen and I start silently into the night. We know that we are leaving Bethany in very capable hands.

We make it to the Volturi's residence without incident. We ghost through the halls. Sadly, the Volturi have not joined this century. The only computer on these grounds sits on the secretary's desk. There are members of the Elite Guard all over the place, which is not very surprising. I think that every member to the Elite Guard might be running around here. They might scatter when we take care of what's left of their comrade. However, they might not. Either way, Jen and I memorize the entire layout. We leave a courtesy note for the human secretary that tells her to leave.

A day has passed since our foray through the Volturi's inner sanctum. We are preparing to head back. Jake is moping because we won't let him come too. Demetri is to be the only casualty this night. Bethany is not pouting this time. She is glad that she doesn't have to see him die. Jen and I are going to take a longer way around for our approach. On the way back though, we will take a shorter path to the safe house. We arrive once more at the Volturi's gates. Something stops us from going in the way we did last night. Not a physical barrier, just a feeling that another way would be better.

Jen and I enter the underground tunnels. We happen to see Demetri as he leaves the large room that the Volturi have taken to using since he delivered our message. Of course he has a couple other members of the Elite Guard with him. We project ourselves into his room. Their footsteps precede them down the hall. Jen passes two fingers in front of her eyes. We don't have to worry about them smelling us ad witches don't have scents.

The two vampires that walked Demetri back to his room come in while he waits in the hall. Thanks to Jen, they can't see us. So they look around the room and see only what is supposed to be there while we stand along a wall. The door blocks us from Demetri's view in the hallway. Jen and I want him to see us when the time is right. We hold our enchanted swords. Jen's has purple streaks on the blade while mine has blue streaks on its blade. The two vampires leave the room and bid Demetri a good night. He comes in and closes the door. I seal and soundproof the room He turns around slowly and looks at us. We just grin at him.

Demetri tries for the door. The handle won't even turn. I weave my magic very well. Jen taught me very well. He shouts out and then stays quiet. He knows that no one can hear him. I sneer and take off his other arm at the elbow when he lunges at me. Jen takes off a leg at the knee. Demetri lets out a strangled cry of pain. He's trying to be strong. Too bad he's not strong. I take off the other leg at the hip as Jen castrates him on his way to the ground. We dice up his lower abdomen. Jen grabs his hair and lifts his head up. In one smooth swing she separates it from what's left of his torso. I finish cutting up the rest of his body.

Jen uses magical fire to torch the pieces yet leave the room the way that it was. This time we leave the ashes. The Volturi will see it and know what happened. They will also know that they can't hide anywhere. We leave the city and head to the forest. Something unexpected is waiting for us in a clearing that we want to pass through. The entire Cullen family is there. Edward is standing in the middle of the clearing. They are all looking at me. Jen asses the situation before she too looks at me. I still feel calm about my closure, even being face to face with him. I nod twice. Jen shrugs and goes to sit in a tree at the clearing's edge.

**EDWARD**

There she is. Now is my chance. She doesn't look mad. In fact, she looks like she is completely calm. My family's thoughts are screaming at me to say something. Time seems to slow down. The best place to start is the beginning. I open my mouth, but no sound comes out. I shake myself out of my haze.

"Bella, I am so very sorry," I make myself say.

"For what?" Bella really sounds confused.

I explain everything to her. But Bella thinks that I am just trying to make her feel better. She assures me that she has found closure and is completely fine with me seeing that blonde vampire. I explain about Tanya. Bella doesn't believe that either. It takes awhile before I can get through to her. I can see the change on her face. She was all smiles and friendliness before, but no she is completely expressionless as she accepts the fact that I lied to her.


	14. So It Starts

**BELLA**

…he lied to me…

He _lied_ to me.

He lied to _me_.

I now fully appreciate the deadliness of a quiet rage. Jen chose well with her method of showing how she is pissed. Rage is the only word for what is rising within me. That ass put me through hell. That ass did what _he_ deemed was best for _me_. I had no say in the matter at all. Words fail me. There is no way to describe just how pissed I am.

"Bella, words cannot express how sorry I am."

"Care to swing that by me again?" My eyes narrow. Sorry, right, you are not as sorry as you are going to be.

"Umm…" the ass is speechless, good.

"You know what, strike that. I think I've got an idea about what you are telling me," he flinches a little at my tone. We are just warming up, Edward.

"Let me just check though, to make sure I've got it about right. You, in all your wisdom, decided, for _both_ of us, that _we_ were going to break up for _my_ own good. Then you all left me behind, feeling much worse than worthless, for _my_ own good. Does that about sum it up?" I am still speaking quietly.

"I wouldn't word it exactly that way…" Edward says in a small voice.

"That doesn't answer my question, Edward," I sound deceptively calm.

"…yes…" Edward whispers.

"I don't believe this. Okay, I do believe it. But I shouldn't have to believe it. Like _any_ of _you_ have _any_ right to decide what's best for _me_."

"Bella…" He interrupts.

"You said enough in that forest that day. This is my time to talk," I cut him off. He takes a step back, smart.

"Do you have any idea what you put me through?"

"Hey, that's not fair! He suffered too," Alice interjects.

"Where were you for the 57 days that I was still in Forks after you guys had left, Alice?" I turn my attention to her.

"Well…uh…" She shoots a look at Edward.

"That's what I thought, so shut it. Like I said before, it's my turn to talk. I was way too quiet around you guys the first time. Now that I think about it, that's what probably gave you _all_ the idea that you _could_ decide what's best for me in the first place."

"There's no need to bring them into this, it was all my doing," Edward speaks up, not his smartest move.

"Shut. It. Edward. This is my time. _If_ you are lucky, then you might get a turn much later. Now, where was I? Oh yes, what you put me through. Let's ignore, for a moment, the entire emotional trauma that's I've been through on your account. We are going to start with Victoria. You might remember her. She was James' mate. I'm sure you remember him. Well, she came after me several months after you left…"

"We didn't know she was James' mate or that she was coming after you. And we didn't know what Edward had done," Alice tries to sooth me, too bad I'm pissed at her too.

"You didn't know? Are you seriously going with that excuse? Can Edward take away everyone's will? Is Edward really the one in charge? No. But you _all_ still left. You left because Edward asked you to. I'm going to go out on a limb here and say that he also asked you not to say goodbye. And you _all_ respected his wishes. Why? Because Edward was, and is, a part of your family. A family that I never belonged to…"

"That's not true! We all love you!" Alice would be sobbing if vampires could cry.

"If that's not a true statement, then why did you leave without saying goodbye? Why did none of you look back?"

Alice has nothing to say. None of them has anything to say. They should feel bad. I've had enough. I sneer and turn to leave.

_I don't think so, darlin'._ Jen says telepathically. I look at her.

_What do you mean?_ I ask.

_Think of this like a caged fight. No one enters or leaves until it is done._ She answers.

_It is done._ I reply.

_If you leave now, then you will be no better than Edward. He decided for both of you about breaking up. Now, you are deciding for both of you about not having a second chance._ Jen has a point.

_Did you enchant this clearing?_ I ask, but I already know the answer.

_Of course I enchanting this clearing. You literally cannot leave until this is over, well this part anyway. So, let it all out. He needs to know._ Damn, she's right.

_What do you mean I literally can't leave? I'm a witch, aren't I?_ Please don't let her mean what I think she means.

_About that, I temporarily suspended your magic. I know you would regret ending his life, he is the love of yours._

_ You can't do that!_ I don't think she can anyways.

_Do you not know the definition of magic?_ She sounds calm.

_Ha ha. What if he goes at me?_ Bet you didn't think of that, smartass.

_I'm fairly certain that he won't. But if he does, don't worry I have your back. Vampires can re-attach limbs later, you know._ Thanks Jen, I really want to do this right now. Sighing, I turn back to a confused Edward.

"You are one lucky bastard," I inform him.

"While I'm sure he is thrilled to know that, I feel that maybe you should pick up with the story about Victoria. Just so everyone's on the same page about it," Jen interjects from her perch. I purse my lips and glance at her.

"Okay, but only because you are the one that brought it back up. Victoria came after me merely months after you left. For all you guys knew when you left, I was completely defenseless when it came to vampire attacks. Fortunately, I had presented by then. It was a good thing that Jen was with me. Oh, and the pack too. Right around the time you left, strange things started happening. It all started in Seattle. More and more newborn vampires started showing up. We were elsewhere working on my training. Our Seer, Dakota, saw Charlie being attacked, but she couldn't see what was going to attack him.

Of course we went back to Forks. Even if Charlie didn't remember me, he was still my father. The first place we went to see about what was going on was the Rez. There, we discovered that many of the guys on the Rez had started transforming into horse-sized wolves. But then, you guys already knew about that particular trait. Jen, Dakota, and I teamed up with the pack, one of which was my old friend Jacob Black."

"You spent a lot of time with that pack? Didn't your promise to me about not doing anything reckless matter at all?" Edward sounds outraged.

"Don't you dare presume to lecture me about keeping promises, Edward Cullen. And that promise was made void when I became a witch."

"WITCH!" The entire Cullen family exclaim at once. I find that very interesting.

"Yeah, surely you guys don't believe that vampires are the only kind of immortals in the world. Anyway, we spent time with the pack while we were trying to figure out the whole matter. One day, I was meditating in the clearing that Edward had shown me, looking for inner peace and emotional balance. Suddenly I heard someone approaching. You will probably be as surprised as I was to discover that it was Laurent. He entered the clearing, but kept his distance. Foolishly, I thought that the encounter was a way to reconnect with the vampire world. I was looking for closure, after all.

He told me that he was hunting and that she would be angry with him. I didn't understand what he meant, but I know enough about his kind of vampire to be wary. When I asked him what he meant, he told me. Victoria was pissed that Edward had killed her mate and she wanted to return the favor. I informed him that you had moved on and that I meant nothing to you. He said that he was sorry to hear that, but it didn't change anything. Jacob and a couple other wolves showed up and ripped Laurent to shreds. We all went back to patrol Charlie's house. There was a fire going in the back yard when we arrived.

About five or so newborns had tried for Charlie during the time I was supposed to be meditating. Jen had taken care of the matter and was burning the pieces. I'm sure you all saw a little of her skill the last time we saw each other. After that, Jen and I were annoyed, to say the least, that Victoria would go after an innocent human in her quest for revenge. So, we went on the offensive. We left the pack to their patrolling of Forks and the Rez, there were certainly enough of them. Jen taught me how to use my own gifts as a Hunter. We followed Victoria's trail to just north of Seattle. We found her creating another newborn vampire. She never saw us coming. And she never saw anything after that."

"Wow, that must have been something. It's a good thing that Jen was with you," Alice tries to play peacemaker.

"Jen has been with me every step of the way, since before I even presented. That's more than can be said for any of you."

"Okay, then. Perhaps it's time for story hour to end. They will be wondering what has happened to us back at the safe house. But, I would like to extend an invitation to the Cullen family to stay with us, if they would like." Jen cuts me off.

"Fine, but I'm going home now," I can feel my magic return to me. I project myself into my room.

I had found closure, damn vampire. I had found peace. He couldn't even let me have that. It's bad that he lied to me. It's bad that he made me believe that he didn't love me. It's worse that he made me feel like shit. It's worse still that he made me into a ghost of myself. The worst part was that, once again, the almighty vampire decided what was best for _me_. I had had no opinion worth his consideration at that time. He was powerful and I was weak. Well, I'm not weak anymore…ass.


	15. Some Advice

**EDWARD**

She's gone…again. It's like she disintegrated into blue dust and blew away. I seem to have that affect on her. I didn't know about Victoria. If I had known that she would go after Bella, I never would have left Forks. I underestimated Victoria's attachment to James. But Bella seems much more pissed about something else though.

"First meetings usually involve some kind of introduction. So, I'm Jen. I trained and now work with Bella. I know who you are. Therefore the introduction section is over. There are a few ground rules that we need to discuss before we head to the safe house."

"We don't feed on humans. We are also very careful with our hunting, you don't have to worry about that," Carlisle assures Jen.

"I'm not concerned about that. But you should know that Jacob Black is staying with us as well," Jen seems very calm.

"Of course we will be polite," Esme says.

"That's good, because his wife can be a little testy. She's one you don't want to piss off," Jen continues.

"Why?" Emmett can't help but ask.

"Well, because Nestalia is a wood nymph. One should never underestimate any kind of nymph, of course. But wood nymphs can make life hell for those who need to hunt to survive," Jen explains.

"Exactly how many different kinds of immortals are there?" Jasper wonders out loud.

"Quite a lot actually. Vampires seem to be at a disadvantage. You see, there haven't been any vampire representatives on the Council since the Volturi took power. That brings us to our next topic of discussion. Of course anything you see or hear while with us should not be passed on, especially to them," Jen sounds serious about this…deadly serious.

"Don't worry, we don't hold any particular loyalty to the Volturi," Carlisle informs Jen.

"I'm glad to hear that. I should warn you though, if someone betrays us, they do not get a second chance to do so again." Yep, she's definitely deadly serious.

"Not to push our luck, but what exactly do you consider what happened with Edward?" Emmett's curiosity might just kill me.

"Psh, a lovers' spat with unfortunate casualties among the observers," Jen dismisses it.

"I'm glad to hear that…" I start to say.

"Don't get me wrong, Edward. I think you are an ass for what you did to Bella. But I also think that you two are meant to be. There's an air of destiny about the whole thing. You are both going to have to work through your issues. Okay, all of you, not just Edward. That's going to time, you understand," Jen cuts me off.

"We appreciate that you are helping us," Esme smiles at Jen.

"I hope we will all get to know each other better. Fortunately Bella has been convinced that both she _and_ Edward need to decide together about a second chance," Jen returns the smile.

"I take it that is what was going on while you two were looking at each other?" Alice has been dying to ask that.

"As witches, we can communicate telepathically with each other. I should also tell you that I enchanted the clearing, so no one could leave it for a bit. Oh, and I might have suspended her magic for the duration of the story about Victoria. Yeah, she might be a little testy about that, but she would have regretted it if something had happened," Jen is almost talking to herself by this point.

"You were concerned she would vanish again," Carlisle concludes.

"She didn't vanish last time. Bethany had an accidental discharge of her magic. She's just starting to learn though. Such a thing is to be expected. Bethany seems to show an affinity for Healing, not Hunting like Bella and I do. She will probably go with the next Healer we run across and specialize her training to suit her. Anyway, she sensed that Bella might not want to deal with you all. Her magic reacted before any of us could respond. It put you guys into a time warp. Bethany had to be a ways away from the time warp in order for time to resume. The reason it looked like we disappeared is simply because we weren't in the same place when time resumed for you. I took care of the arm from a tree and took care of any trail to give Bella time to think," Jen explains.

"That's why we couldn't smell you," Emmett sounds so proud of himself.

"Witches don't have scents, sorry Emmett. As far as I know, and I have been around longer than all of you together, talents only really affect that type of immortal. For example, vampire talents only work on other vampires. Werewolf powers only work on other werewolves, and so on. But that's for more active powers. Seeing is more passive, so it works differently…"

"Then how can you hunt other immortals?" Jasper asks quietly.

"Man, I need to start carrying cards with the definition of 'magic' on them. There will be more discussion about this later, I'm sure. Since you are considering staying with us, you should know who all is staying with us at the safe house. Jacob and his wife, Nestalia, have already been covered. Our Seer, Dakota, is with us, of course. I think that she is dying to talk to Alice. Bella will probably be staying in her room all through tonight and tomorrow. My husband, Eliot, is also with us. If any of you like video games, Jacob and Eliot would love some fresh competition," Jen tells us all.

"Woohoo! Bring it on!"Emmett booms out. Jen chuckles a little at his enthusiasm.

"They will be very glad to hear that. I like your child-like wonder," Jen responds.

"Child-like wonder? That's not what I was going to call it," Rosalie glares at her mate.

"While we're on the subject of games, you should avoid the game Monopoly while Jacob is around," Jen smiles to herself.

"Why?" Jasper is intrigue.

"Let's just say that is makes you glad you are immortal. Those are hours you can never get back," Jen chuckles at that.

"We would like to stay with you as long as we are welcome to. Thanks you for the invitation," Carlisle decides.

We follow Jen to what is apparently the safe house. House is an understatement. This place certainly has space to spare. I can smell the wolf, but he's nowhere to be seen. There is also a really woodsy scent that has to belong to his wife, the wood nymph. Jen shows us to a wing that lies really close to the tree line. That's really considerate. She's making it easy for us for when we need to hunt. She shows Carlisle and Esme to the master suite of this wing. Across the hall from them lies the suite that Emmett and Rosalie apparently want. They rush through the door and slam it behind them. I hope they don't break anything on our first night. While Jen seems laid back enough to take it in stride, Carlisle and Esme would be terribly embarrassed.

"This place is amazing, Jen. Thanks so much for opening your doors to us," Alice says as we reach the suite she will share with Jasper.

"Yes, thank you so much," Jasper agrees.

"I love that you guys are polite. You are most welcome. See you in the morning," Jen responds.

I am across the hall from Alice and Jasper. I go enter the room. I happen to glance up to see Jen giving me a puzzling look. It's like she is really considering telling me something. I want to ask her about it, but I don't want to push her. So I stand there, just inside my doorway, waiting. I watch as she purses her lips and furrows her brow. She sighs as she seems to come to a decision. Thankfully, Jen decides things faster than Bella does.

"Would you mind if I offer you a bit of advice Edward? Consider carefully before you answer," Jen is completely sincere. Do I really want to know her advice? She has known Bella for over 50 years. They have been close for over 50 years. Her insight would be invaluable in my quest to get Bella to take me back.

"I would love any advice you can give me," I reply.

"A real, lasting relationship is built on trust between two equals," and with that, Jen turns and walks down the hall.


	16. Drained

**BELLA**

I am so drained. I can't believe I slept last night, with Edward here. His family probably told him to give me space after my story last night. I hear a light knock on my door. Jen would just come in. Okay, most of my friends would just come in. I make myself roll off my bed and head to the door of my suite. I open the door to find a penitent Alice standing on the other side.

"Are you still angry with me?" she asks in a quiet voice.

"I'm too drained to be angry," I sigh.

"I'm _so_ sorry! I should never have listened to that boneheaded brother of mine. I never should have left you behind," She launches at me and wraps her arms around me.

"Alice…" I start to reply.

"I'm not finished yet. I know that, at times, I have made you feel like a child. That was really rude of me. I mean, how arrogant was I? I know that any decision about your life has to be made by you. I didn't even realize I was taking that away from you. I'm not using it as an excuse. There is no excuse for my behavior. I just wanted you to know that it wasn't intentional on my part," Alice rushes through her little speech.

"Okay, Alice," I answer.

"Well?" she asks.

"Alice, I don't know what you want me to say," I sigh.

"Say you can forgive me. Say you don't hate me. Say that you want me around as you friend, on an equal basis."

"Of course I forgive you. I could never hate you, no matter how angry you can make me sometimes. As for being friends, we can certainly try. Just know that I have changed and there are things about me that, while you might not like them, you will just have to accept."

Alice nods while wearing her serious face to let me know she understands. Now that Alice has shown up to apologize, I guess I should be prepared for the whole family to do the same. They will show up individually, of course, because they don't seem to want to pressure me. I'm going to have to deal with Edward. There is still a lot to talk through and deal with before we can even broach the whole relationship thing. I am so drained though. Since the next target won't even be decided until tomorrow, I think I'll just go back to bed for the rest of the day.

"You look tired… maybe you should go back to bed. I'll check up on you later though," Alice interrupts my thoughts.

I head back to bed. However, I anticipate many visits. I don't know if I can deal with Edward today. It's a good thing that Jen allows a few days in between targets. The reason is so that we are rested and fresh for our fights. Sleepiness means sloppiness. We can't afford to make mistakes because mistakes could cost someone their life. Actually, I'm a little surprised that Jen hasn't stopped by my room yet. Maybe she's waiting for the various Cullen family members to have their time to talk with me first. That is just like her. I hear another light rap at my door. Sighing, I heave myself off my bed, again, and head back to the door. This time Esme is waiting on the other side.

"I wanted to speak with you, is that alright?" she actually looks worried that I will turn her away.

"Of course it is. Come on in and sit down. Where's Carlisle?" I answer her with a question of my own.

"I felt like this should be a conversation just between us. Although, I do believe that he'll be along later as well," she smiles a little.

"What did you want to discuss?" I just want this to go fast.

"I understand your feelings, and I want to apologize for my part in what happened. I truly am sorry for anything I said or did that made you feel like I was taking away your decisions or made you feel like a child. I know that you are your own person. I knew it then too. Please forgive my behavior. I have always considered you to be like a daughter to me. I obviously didn't show it well with our departure, but know that I have mourned your absence," she eloquently says her piece.

"I forgive you, Esme. I missed you too. Maybe one day we can all be one big family," I respond.

"I would love that. Jen seems like she wouldn't mind us joining in," Esme says.

"She's usually very laid back. I think she would want you guys to be a part of her family," I inform her.

Esme gives me a hug as she leaves. Okay, two down. Let's see who shows up next. If Jen or Dakota was here, we would bet on it. I'm thinking Carlisle will be next. It's not that I am vindictive, I'm not…usually. I just had to let it all out. I've spent too much of my life bottling things up and then burying them deep inside. Jen was right when she told me I needed to vent. I feel a little lighter already. I hear another vampire knocking and get up to see if I was right with my guess. Nope, surprisingly it's Jasper this time.

"Hi Bella. May I speak with you for a moment?" he asks quietly.

"Sure Jasper, come on in," I respond.

"I'm sorry about your birthday," he starts.

"Please, that is a non-issue. You have nothing to be sorry about. We weren't close, so I never expected you to look for me. Unless, of course, Alice dragged you along," I try to put him at ease.

"Then I'm sorry for being stand-offish. I didn't really trust myself around you. However, I would like to remedy that, if you'll give me the chance," he persists.

"That sounds nice, Jasper," I smile at him. He looks relieved.

As Jasper is leaving, Carlisle walks down the hall. Did they draw numbers? This order is way random. I should have a revolving door installed. I motion for Carlisle to come in. He sits down before he says anything, collecting his thoughts.

"Bella, I owe you an apology. Leaving without talking with you was wrong. I took the decision about Edward away from you. By leaving, I gave you the impression that you did not belong to our family. For all of that I am deeply sorry," he stops there.

"I forgive you, Carlisle," I should just get that phrase tattooed on my forehead. That would certainly save time.

"I know that you have a family, but I would like for you to consider if we can stay with you. Of course you will need to discuss the matter with Jen and Dakota first."

"I will talk with then about it and let you know. I don't foresee a problem with that though," I inform him.

Carlisle gives me a fatherly hug as he leaves. No one is in the hall yet. I guess Emmett is the logical, and really only, choice. Rosalie has never really liked me. So, I don't anticipate her showing up…or feeling the need to apologize ever. I hear Emmett bounding down the hall. Smiling to myself, I go to open the door to find both Emmett and Rosalie.

"May we come in, please?" Rosalie asks sweetly.

"Uh…sure," I move aside to allow them to pass.

"Bells, I am sooooo sorry. I can treat you like the equal you are. Give me a chance to show you. Please?" Emmett pouts as both Rosalie and I stare at him.

"Of course I forgive you," I can't help but answer as I laugh.

"ALL RIGHT!" Emmett holds his hand up for a high five. I slap his hand.

"Now for the grown-up portion," Rosalie says as she rolls her eyes at her mate and shoos him out of my suite.

"I'm a little surprised to see you drop by," I inform her.

"I know I'm a self-centered bitch. I was jealous because Edward never thought of me as a possibility for his wife. He's never looked at me like he looks at you. I don't love him like that, I never have. I just hate that he never even considered me attractive…which I am. I am trying to get over that for both of you. Emmett accepts my selfishness, but it hurt Edward…and you. I also was angry at you for wanting to give up your mortality. You see, I've always wanted to have a child. And you were just going to give up your ability to have one," she explains.

"If that's an apology, then I forgive you. I don't expect you to change if you don't want to. Just like I'm sure you don't want me to change if I don't want to."

"You are cooler than I gave you credit for. We might just be friends after all," she says as she leaves.

I don't know if I would go that far. Who knows though, weirder things have happened. All members of the Cullen family have been accounted for, with the exception of Edward. I sit down. Amazingly enough, I don't really feel drained anymore. In fact, I feel pretty good. There is still a lot to deal with, but now only Edward remains. It's a little early to tell, but I think some of my anger has dissipated. Jen walks over and sits next to me.

"Way to knock," I greet her.

"Psh, who knocks?" Jen asks.

"Polite vampires," I answer.

_I figured they would show up at you door throughout the day._ She switches to telepathy.

_They did in fact_. I follow her lead.

_How did it go?_ She enquires.

_It went well. There was a lot of apologizing._ I sigh.

_So, all that's left is Edward. Then you leave,_ she comments.

_What do you mean?_ I ask, feeling a little twinge of panic. She wouldn't kick me off the team, would she?

_I never expected you to stay and work with me forever, Bella. Edward is your one love. You should be with him, no matter where he is._

_ I'm not leaving. I love Hunting with you. Besides, the Cullens want to join us. I think they would like not being able to have to hide what they are._

_ If you are sure. Leaving wouldn't mean that we would stop being friends._ Jen sounds skeptical.

_I am sure._ I assure her. There is no way I am leaving her family…I mean team.

_Carlisle could work with some Healers who know about the various possible medical needs of the many types of immortals. The others could work out well too. Jasper, especially, will make a good addition._

_Why Jasper especially?_ She has caught my attention.

_He throws off a soldier vibe. That trait is helpful in our line of work, you know that._ She explains to me.


	17. Discussion and Lesson

**ALICE**

"I still feel bad," I inform my mate.

"Every vampire in this house feels bad," Jasper assures me.

"We deserve to feel bad," I continue.

"Hence why I haven't tried to alter the atmosphere," Jazz sounds so sad.

"How could we have just followed Edward? We didn't even think that Bella would feel rejected or worthless in our eyes," I berate myself and my family.

"That's just it dear, we didn't think," Esme says as she enters our suite.

"And now we have to deal with the consequences," Carlisle adds as he sits down.

"She said she forgave us. I believe she really did," Emmett booms as he and Rosalie follow Carlisle and Esme in.

"Trust has to be earned, Emmett," Rosalie says.

"We did earn it before," Emmett pouts.

"But then we broke that trust by leaving. We never even said goodbye," I sigh.

"It will take a lot to earn back her confidence in us," Jazz continues for me.

"One of the biggest parts of that is accepting her and her lifestyle," Carlisle starts.

"Whatever that is," Rosalie snidely adds.

"Come on guys. She's a witch…and immortal. We are vampires. How much of a stretch is it to accept that magic is it real? We have already seen them use it," Emmett dismisses.

"We have to make it clear to Bella that we don't expect her to have to choose between us and her new family," Esme quietly says.

"Which means that we will have to try and become a part of that family," I add.

"Eliot is way cool, so he won't have a problem with that," Emmett announces.

"Jen is rather laid back, but we will have to prove our trustworthiness or loyalty before she will fully accept us as a part of her family," Jazz states firmly.

"No comments, rose?" I ask.

"I don't have a problem with rectifying our mistakes. As much as I hate to say it, we did this. Edward is not the only one to blame," she states.

"Besides, have you seen how badass Bella has become? I think she and Rose will be good friends this time," Emmett optimistically booms. We all chuckle at him.

"Anyway, I think it's safe to assume that no matter what her usual responsibilities are, she and her friends are going after the Volturi now," Jazz brings us back to the topic at hand.

"Based on what happened with Demetri, I think we can also assume there won't be any survivors," Carlisle adds.

"I'm not a fan of the Volturi. They have had too many power trips over the years. So, I want to help Jen and Bella out. That is, if they will let me," I break the news to my family.

"Wait a second, do we seriously need to discuss this? I'm all for kicking Volturi ass all over the place," Emmett interjects.

"It would also be the perfect way to build up some trust with Bella and her family," Jazz adds as he takes my hand in his.

"I take it everyone is in agreement, then?" Carlisle smiles as he asks.

"YES!" we all say at once.

"Poor Edward will have to deal with the fact that Bella can take care of herself," Esme giggles a little as she comments.

"Where is Edward?" Emmett asks the obvious.

**EDWARD**

I can't stop thinking about what Jen told me. I will have to work on rebuilding Bella's trust. The whole 'equals' thing will be challenging for me too. Clearly she can take care of herself now. But I want to be the one to take care of her. She seemed angry about us leaving. However she was definitely pissed about the way she was treated. She didn't know what was best for her. I did. Maybe I should have talked to her about it, but that wouldn't have changed anything.

My family has gone to apologize to Bella, individually, throughout the day. Carlisle thinks it would be best if I just wait for her to contact me. He might be right about that. I have some things that I need to work through before we can pick up our conversation. Her anger, while completely justified, caught me completely off guard. I need to just let her feel what she needs to feel. Now, there are some surprises from her outburst in that clearing. Okay, there were all sorts of surprises in that clearing.

First, how did I know she would travel through there? There was no way to know that she was staying in this house. I didn't even know that this house existed. I'm not psychic, like Alice, so I couldn't See her coming through. But I knew it just the same. I just knew she would. I will have to ask about that. Second, she's a witch. Apparently, witches are immortal. That means that I don't have to end her life to be with her forever. That's good…at least for me. She seems to be really powerful. Okay, so Bella has changed. I can accept that. I have to accept that to be with her.

Carlisle and Alice come into my suite and sit down opposite of me. They look serious. I can hear their thoughts, but I need them to say it all out loud to make it real. Shaking my head, I look at the floor.

"Edward, we have discussed what the family wants to do," Carlisle starts.

"Wasn't I invited?" I try to joke.

"This is serious, Edward," Alice says.

"We decided that we all want to stick around with Bella. We will rebuild her trust in us, not matter how long it takes. We also want to be a part of her new family," Carlisle tells me.

"That means that you have to accept a few things. For starters, your foolish actions when you left," Alice sounds annoyed.

"Her way of life might be a hard thing for you to accept you to accept as well," Carlisle adds.

"Come on, everything is going to fine. We'll be together. I don't even have to watch her die anymore. She might not like some of the ways I protect her, especially from herself, but we will work through that," I say.

"Edward, are you even listening to yourself? You are so selfish…and self-centered. Bella might not take your sorry ass back. I don't think I would if I were her," Alice cuts me off. She storms out of the room.

"Alice has a valid point, Edward. Those traits are that lead you to your decision to leave. The decision that you and Bella needed to be apart for _her_ own good. Bella is the only one that should ever decide what it best for her. You need to realize that," Carlisle sounds disappointed.

"But Carlisle…" I try, but no more words come out.

"Edward you need to decide something. Do you really and truly love Bella or do you just want her to be yours? Like a pet? Because, if you don't love her with all of your being, then there is no way that the two of you can reconcile," Carlisle says as he, too, leaves.

I think back over my encounters with Bella. Sadly, there are a couple of themes. I was selfish and self-centered…especially when I decided to leave her for her own good. At the time, I didn't even consider that she might have an opinion worth listening to. Damn, they are right. I treated her more like a pet than like the love of my existence. How could I have been so stupid?

Bella deserves better. Therefore, I need to make myself better because I want to be with her. I just hope she can forgive me and take me back. That's what Jen meant with her advice. She was telling me how to fix things with my Bella. I don't deserve her help, but she helped me anyway. No wonder Bella seems so attached to her friend. I would be too. Maybe after I work on things with Bella, we can join her family. Suddenly, a slip of paper folded in half slides under my door. I go and pick it up. Opening it, I read:

_We need to continue our talk._

_Meet me at the front door at 10 and_

_we'll walk in the forest._


	18. Witch Lore

**BELLA**

"A note?" Jen asks me.

"Yes," I respond.

"That you slid under his door?" she persists.

"_Yes_," I inform her, again.

"Seriously? Are you like 12 years old? Do you like me? Check yes or no," Jen asks in disbelief.

"I don't recall asking for your opinion on the matter," I fake a scowl at her.

"That's because you know that I will always voice my opinion," she just grins at me.

Shaking my head, I notice that the Cullen family, minus Edward, is staring at us. They can't seem to figure out our banter with each other. Sure, we can sass each other, but that is just part of the fun that is our friendship. Okay, it might just be that the vampires can't believe that we are eating monster themed cereal. Dakota walks in and pours herself a bowl of her favorite kind.

"Where are the guys?" I ask her.

"They are playing yet more of that new video game. I think they said something about a tournament, if anyone is interested," Dakota answers. Jasper and Emmett launch themselves to the game room…boys.

"So, ask already," Jen says to the remaining members of the Cullen family.

"You're both witches? Like burn them at the stake?" Alice launches into the questions they all have been dying to ask.

"Like with vampires, there are a lot of myths surrounding witches," I answer through my giggles.

"And before you ask, there is no such thing as a magic school either," Jen gets through her own set of giggles.

"So, how does that work? Parents teach their kids?" Rosalie asks.

"Rosalie, witches can't have children," I inform her. Does she think that Jen is secretly my mother?

"Really? Why's that?" Esme is very curious.

"It's because of an ancient enchantment. Way back when, there was a powerful family of witches. Mostly, the members of the family were concerned with keeping the bloodline pure and themselves in power. They ruled much like the Volturi. Then something tragic happened. One of their daughters fell in love with a mortal man. At first, the family tried to convince her of her folly. When that proved futile, they disowned her. She married her love. One day, she discovered that she was with child. Her family threatened that child's safety. They tried to destroy what they called an abomination while it was still in the womb. The young wife used her magic to protect both her and her unborn child against her own flesh and blood. When her family still tried to kill her baby, she cursed them. Once her child was born, the young mother used all of her magic to curse not just her family, but all might wish to follow in their footsteps. So it was then, no witch can bear a child…ever," Jen explains.

"The way is works is like this. When someone is about to present, they sort of call out to witches near them. The witch that is there when that person presents is responsible for them. They take the new witch along with them and train them. They stay together however long they need to be. Sometimes the new witch trades mentors in order to specialize in certain things. For example, I have a talent for Hunting. So I stayed with Jen for the duration of my training. She is the best after all. Bethany, however, seems to have an affinity for Healing. So, she will have the option to go with the next Healer that we run across," I answer their question.

"Wow, I think the witch world is more structured than the vampire world…or maybe just more confusing," Alice says.

"You get used to the structure. And I think you will catch on fast," Dakota assures them.

"What time are you meeting with Edward?" Jen asks me nonchalantly.

"10 o'clock," Dakota answers for me.

"_You're_ meeting with Edward too?" Jen and I exclaim at once.

"I already made my appointment for ten, so you are just going to have to reschedule," I inform her.

"And I want the next slot," Jen adds.

"You are both hilarious," Dakota manages to keep a straight face. Then, we all three dissolve into giggles. The Cullen family members present join in after a moment. We settle into a comfortable silence. Well, with munching of course.

"Oh, I almost forgot to tell you. Be wary going through that one area of the forest on your walk. You know what tonight is," Dakota tell me.

"The Full Moon Festival," Jen and I answer together.

"What's that?" Rosalie asks.

"Once a yeah, packs of werewolves, real ones, gather in certain clearings," I explain.

"What do they do?" Rosalie asks like she doesn't really want to know.

"Only werewolves know. Other immortals usually just stay away from the Festival locations to be on the safe side," Dakota answers her.

"What do you mean 'real' werewolves?" Carlisle speaks up for the first time during this conversation.

"Well, Jake transforms into a horse-sized wolf. Okay, a lot of Jakes fellow tribes-people do too. While their transformations can be dictated by mood, the moon does not have any effect whatsoever. That's why we just call them wolves, because they aren't really werewolves," Jen says.

"You seem very calm about not knowing the details of the Full Moon Festival," Carlisle comments.

"Eh, witches have their own culture. Vampires have their own culture. Nymphs have several different, yet similar cultures. Why not werewolves?" Dakota answers.

"Going back to witches, so you trained Bella?" Alice can't hold in her curiosity.

"Yes. It's very unusual for witches to stay in a group, like we do, even amongst Hunters. But our results are unquestionable," Jen says off-handedly.

"Results? What exactly to you guys do?" Carlisle asks.

"We do a couple of things, really. One thing is we are very good at training new witches," Dakota starts.

"Another thing we do is Hunt," I continue.

"Hunt?" the four remaining Cullen family members say at once.

"Let's start with the Council, shall we? The Council has a representative from every immortal species, save one…vampires. When the Volturi took power, they decided to not send a representative. They wanted to try to be autonomous. The Council voted to allow them the chance. Such a thing has been tried before, with poor results. The Volturi wanted the vampire world to forget about the existence of other immortals. The Council voted and decided to make vampires like mortals for other immortals. The Volturi were warned that they would be watched carefully though," Jen explains.

"We work for the Council. That means that we work with other immortal Hunters. That is one of the many programs that the Council uses to promote inter-species relations. What we do, along with the other Hunters who usually work alone, is take care of security threats. The humans can't know that immortals exist, or we'll have a repeat of the various attempts to eradicate all of us. So, the Council determines the most pressing threats to that security. Then, the Hunters fix it, however we need to," I elaborate.

"Since the Volturi have taken power, they have played it safe. That is until recently," Carlisle interjects.

"Exactly, since they have made several power plays that are garnering more and more attention from the mortal world. They have to be dealt with. The Council tried diplomatic avenues, to no avail. That's why we were asked to take care of the matter," Dakota adds.

"So, since diplomacy failed, force is your choice for dealing with them?" Alice sounds concerned.

"If they can't keep the existence of immortals a secret and they won't listen to reason, then they have to be dealt with," Jen, Dakota, and I say together.

Everyone is quiet with their thoughts. I'll give the Cullen family some credit, the four that have been talking with us took all that we told them fairly well. They must understand that what we say is true. I mean, look at the history of witches. You have New Haven and Salem most recently. Those were disasters. Hell, look at the Volturi's own history. That's not pretty either. They have tried to wipe werewolves off the face of the planet because one of them is afraid. Imagine the entire human race's fear. I look at the clock. Shit, it's almost time to meet with Edward. I haven't even thought about how to start our discussion yet…


	19. A Start

**BELLA**

He's already at the door when I get there. We start walking. Edward keeps looking at me, but I just keep looking ahead. I want to get beyond earshot. Even if the house is completely soundproof, which it is, I don't want anyone who might happen to be in the yard to overhear us. He is waiting for me to start the conversation. Thank God for small favors, I guess. I'm careful to steer us away from the Full Moon Festival. Might as well get this over with.

"You lied to me," I say as I jump into a tree and sit on a limb. That's as good a place to start as any.

"Yes," Edward sighs. He joins me in my tree.

"You treated me like a child, like I was not capable of deciding what was best for me," I should be angry, but I just want all the drama to be over.

"Yes," Edward seems to only be able to say that.

"Not going to defend yourself at all?" I ask, getting annoyed.

"No," Edward answers. So he does know more than one word tonight.

"So, you don't feel like I deserve an explanation at all?" Now I _am_ getting angry.

"Of course you deserve an explanation. There is no excuse, of course. But I was an arrogant, self-centered fool. If I could go back, I would change a lot. I know now what my behavior has cost us. I would treat you like the equal you are. I'm so sorry for what I did and how my actions made you feel," Edward sounds defeated. Damn him and his defeat, it makes me feel sorry for him. My anger once more melts away.

"I forgive you, Edward. But I think we should just try to be friends," I inform him.

"I can accept that…for the time being," he says.

"You might have to accept that for good. I just don't know if I can trust you. There's also the issue of treating me like the adult that I am," I respond.

"I know it will be difficult to rebuild your trust in me. And I have changed. I will treat you right this time around," he sounds confident.

"It's easy to fall into old habits. I don't want to go back to the way things were," I can't tell if he's really getting this.

"It will take time, but we are meant to be together. I'll stick around for however long it takes," Edward is really serious.

"We'll see," I concede…sort of.

"This time will be better," he assures me.

"Edward, I'm a Hunter. Do you know what that means?" I might as well get through this part out of the way.

"What?" he's curious.

"It means that, with Jen and Dakota, I take care of security problems," I start.

"Security problems?" he interrupts.

"I know that you understand the necessity in keeping the existence of immortals under wraps. Any immortal that threatens that security, in _any_ way at all, need to be taken care of. Usually, but not always, that means that we have to silence them permanently. Some times, well every time really, they put up a fight," I pause here.

"Okay," Edward says.

"Riddle me this, Edward. What will you do when someone attacks me? Will you be able to let me handle it? Can you focus on another task if we need you to? Will you have the ability to restrain yourself until I actually need help? I should warn you though, that doesn't happen often," I inquire.

"I don't know. But I will try. I trust you to take care of yourself," Edward looks nervous.

"We can't have you mess up our well-made plans," I hope her really hears that.

"I know that. I really do understand how important your work is to you. And how important it is for all immortals," he seems to mean it.

"That's a start, I guess… if you really mean it, that is," I tell him.

"I really do," he assures me.

We sit in silence for awhile, each lost in our thoughts. I know it will take a lot of work, but maybe Edward and Jen are right. Some day a second chance at a real relationship could be a possibility. The anger is gone. That's good. Anger is not a healthy thing to hold onto. It can distract you from your own path. I fell…like a weight has been lifted. Damn, I guess I get cliché when I find inner peace. Jen and Dakota are going to have a field day with this.

The silence is comfortable. That is a good sign. I would be concerned if it was awkward. I mean, you should be comfortable with the man that you love. Yeah, I said it. I love him. I know that. So many people know that. But, trust is as important as affection. Just because you love someone, doesn't mean that you automatically end up with them. Not every romance is a fairy tale with a happy ending. I'm just sayin'.

"So…" Edward break the silence.

"So?" I look at him.

"Are we okay?" he can't help but ask.

"Okay enough to start a friendship…or at least try to," I answer.

"Like I said before, I can accept that…for now," Edward responds.

"We should head back," I land lightly on the ground.

"Do you have a curfew?" he is sincerely confused.

"No, but Jen, Dakota, and I need to start looking at possible targets," I start walking back.

"Ahh," he responds as he catches up with me.

We walk back companionably enough. Edward knows better than to try anything. He keeps a respectful distance as he lets me lead the way back. I hope that things really are different this time.


	20. Chelsea

**BELLA**

I had my talk with Edward last night. It was not as explosive as I had anticipated it would be. He didn't pull out the self-righteous 'I just know better than you do' side. Maybe he killed that part of him. If you kill a part of yourself, does that make you a little suicidal? Not that I think Edward is suicidal, of course. Anyway, back to the task at hand. I'm looking for Jen. She's probably in the library with Dakota. In this house the library is not hidden or as massive as the one at the previous one.

"There you are," I greet them as I enter the library.

"I'm thinking we should stay here for a bit longer," Jen just jumps right in.

"Okay. Have you picked a target?" I ask her. I hope I didn't miss that part because of all the drama with the vampires.

"We have it narrowed down to two, unless you want to add to that. Of course, we waited for you to make the final decision," Dakota responds.

"Who are in the finals?" I can't figure out who she's thinking of. There are a few possibilities, but they dwindle if they want to stay here for awhile…

"Well, there is Renata. She's the one that can disorient and physically move you with her shield. Aro likes to keep her close at hand," Jen starts.

"I'm getting the impression that you are leaning towards whoever is behind door number two," I interrupt.

"That would be because I am leaning towards the vampire behind door two," Jen says.

"Who's behind door number two?" Emmett asks as the Cullen family joins us.

"What Emmett means is, we would like to help out," Carlisle interjects.

_What do you guys think?_ I inquire of my friends.

_I'm thinking about training, actually._ Jen answers. Dakota barely nods to show her approval of that idea.

_Are you guys sure?_ I mean, a first training run on an actual mission could end very badly.

_She said training, not a training run._ Dakota corrects my assumption.

_This time is clearly out of the question. But if they intend on joining our family, then training them is a given._ Jen seems sure. So does Dakota.

_I suppose…but they will want to stay in on our strategy session._ If they are sure, then I guess there is no problem. I was only concerned when I thought they were talking about letting them join us on this run.

"I don't think you joining us on a mission is a good idea at this point. I mean, we don't know each other well enough to anticipate moves or see when the other really needs help or is lulling them into a false sense of security," I inform them.

"But, if you end up wanting to stay with us, I think training together would be a good first step," Jen adds.

"Of course, I agree completely. Perhaps helping with planning would be alright, though," Carlisle answers.

"We'll try to keep the discussion out loud," Dakota responds.

"But no promises," Jen adds.

"So? Who's behind door number two?" Emmett is getting a little impatient.

"Chelsea. She's the one that strengthens or weakens bonds between people," Jen finally answers him.

"Thus sending the Volturi into a scramble," I fill in.

"All the little peons that had no choice but to join the Elite Guard will scatter. Well, some of the big ones might try to scatter too, but we already know who actually chose to join up," Dakota continues.

"So are you guys just thinking about the three of us?" I ask.

"Eliot too," Jen and Dakota answer together.

"I know Jake will whine…again, but I think that this is going to be the best way to take care of her," Jen says.

"I agree. I think we should catch her on her turn to check the perimeter," I inform them.

Jen pulls out a map. Everyone crowds around it. We look for a good spot that offers some isolation. Of course, some of the members of the Cullen family voiced their input. Like Jen and I haven't already been all over the Voltuir's property. Edward keeps looking at me. He's trying to be subtle about it, but is failing miserably. Jen, Dakota, and I are very careful to keep any discussion of when we will go on the mission in our heads, so as not to tempt anyone into waiting and then following us. Then, he moves to stand next to me. I can't help but sigh. We are not ready to try a relationship, as I told Edward last night. I knew he wasn't really listening.

"Oh, Dr. Cullen…" Jen interrupts my musings.

"Carlisle, please," Carlisle interjects.

"Carlisle, then. How varied is your medical knowledge?" Jen asks innocently.

"Well, I am very knowledgeable about human and vampire medical needs. I also know a little about Jacob's type of wolf. Why?" Carlisle responds.

"I was wondering if you would be mind being more versatile as a doctor. However, if you just want to stay with human hospitals, that's fine too," Jen answers.

"I am always interested in learning new things. I would like to start with a witch's medical needs, if that's okay."

"That makes sense. I will have our own personal collection of magical medical material shipped here," Jen responds.

"No need, I already had them sent here. They should be here tomorrow," Dakota says.

Jen and Dakota are moving faster this time around. Usually, Jen is very cautious with new additions, even if they only work with us on one mission. Dakota usually respects that and holds off on getting close. I've got a bad feeling about this, but I'll wait until later to ask them about it. We settle on the location for our 'meeting' with Chelsea, then goof off for awhile. Jen excuses herself to go and talk to Eliot about our plans. Jake and Nestalia are barricaded in their suite. I know I am both shocked _and_ amazed. Dakota takes Bethany on a training run to test her control. Now is my chance.

"Edward," I say to get his attention.

"Yes?" he looks at me.

"No means no," I say. The whole Cullen family is looking at me now.

"I know, we are just working on building a friendship for now," he answers.

"No, I'm talking about the mission," I persist, this is important. Understanding dawns on every vampire's face.

"Okay…" Edward sounds uncertain.

"I mean it. You need to stay here. There will be no following us," I continue.

"I understand," he says, but he looks like a kid caught with his hand in the cookie jar.

"Don't worry, Bella. We'll make sure he stays here," Carlisle assures me.

"Yeah, he won't mess this up for you guys," Alice sounds confident.

Later that night, Dakota and I head out the door. Jen and Eliot are waiting for us at the tree line. We all move quietly and in tandem. It's kind of cool to watch a bit when we are working with someone that knows us well, verbal communication in not needed. Okay, verbal communication is never needed between witches. But we have all worked together, even with Eliot joining us often, so long that we anticipate changes in position and compensate without the need to break the silence. I breathe a sigh of relief when we get there with no Edward following us. We get into our positions and wait for Chelsea to show up.

Chelsea has not one, not two, but four members of the Elite Guard with her. They are all minor players and one distinctly looks like he is about to wet himself. Dakota makes his shoe untie itself. It's a little juvenile, but usually effective, trick. He falls behind. Dakota takes off his head first, to keep him quiet, the dices him up and burns the pieces in pink flames. Chelsea notices the absence and sends two other of the Guard members to find him.

Eliot smiles as he draws his sword. In one, circular swing he decapitates both of the guards and lands on the ground between the two bodies. He makes short work of the bodies and sets his own fire of emerald flames. Chelsea now understands what is going on. Too bad it's way too late for her to do anything about it. Jen encircles the two remaining vampires in violet flames. We both jump into the circle. The poor minion tries to make a run for it. He ends up screaming in agony while he burns alive in the enchanted fire. Chelsea looks at us in fear. We stare her down. Then, she tries to bargain.

"If I dissolve all bonds to the Volturi, will you let me live? I can make every vampire in the world loyal to you," She tries to entice us.

"If you are alive, then you are a threat," Jen informs her.

"You chose your side and then took that choice away from others," I add.

I unsheathe my sword. Chelsea takes a step back. The first things that she loses are her legs. I carve up her torso a bit. Her head rolls across the ground after I separate it from what's left of her body. Jen and I pile the pieces and I send it all up in blue flames. Eliot and Dakota join us. We all head to the safe house. This mission went off smoothly, I have to say. If only every mission went so well. Unfortunately, this one is the exception.

"Did it go well?" Nestalia asks when we arrive back at the house. Everyone is with her on the front steps, waiting for our answer.

"It went well," Jen answers.

"Thank you for asking," I add with a grin.

"Oh, and be prepared, everyone, Sarah will be joining us in the morning," Dakota throws over her shoulder as she heads to her suite.


	21. Ditched

**EDWARD**

She totally called me on my intention to follow her. How did she know? Oh well, I guess I can handle waiting around…if I have to. She wants to try to build a friendship first. I can totally live with that. I mean, when I look back at our previous relationship, I can only shudder. Bella needs proof that I really have changed. I can do that. This time will be different.

"I take it things did not progress the way that you hoped it would with Bella, dear," Esme says as she and Carlisle join me in my suite.

"She has doubts about a relationship," I reply.

"You will just have to work to show that you have changed. I know you can," Carlisle encourages me.

"I CAN'T BELIEVE THEY DITCHED US AGAIN!" Jacob can be heard through my open door. We go to investigate what the hell he is talking about. The rest of my family is not far behind.

"Jake, baby, it's not the end of the world," Nestalia says as she rubs his shoulders.

"This is worse. They ditched _us_. I mean, I can understand giving the vampires the slip, no offense, but us?" Jacob progresses to whining as the rest of my family gets to the front door.

"None taken. What's going on?" Carlisle responds.

"The witches, minus Bethany of course, have gone off on their mission without us…_again_," Jacob pouts.

"They know I don't care for Hunting," Bethany explains her presence.

"Wait, witches? Eliot is a guy," Emmett interrupts.

"What's your point?" Bethany asks.

"He's a guy. Wouldn't that make him a warlock or a wizard or something?" Emmett persists about this tangent.

"No," Jacob, Nestalia, and Bethany all answer together.

"Don't feel bad, dude. I asked the exact same thing when I met him," Jacob stage whispers to my brother.

"I'm confused," Emmett admits.

"I'm not very far into my history of magic readings yet, but I do know a little. Witch is the general term for magical immortals, regardless of gender. I think warlock and wizard are archaic terms that predate the Council. You will have to ask Jen or Bella or Dakota when they get back. Eliot will know too, now that I think about it," Bethany answers as best she can.

"They left already?" Jasper brings us back to the topic at hand.

"Yeah, they up and left without so much as a 'hey Jake, wanna go and kick some Volturi ass with us' or anything," Jacob rants.

"Oh, for heaven's sake, take it like a man," Nestalia seems to have hit the end of her tolerance of her husband's behavior.

"But Nessie…" Jacob sticks out his lower lip at his wife.

"Don't you 'but Nessie' me. They are more than capable of taking care of themselves," Nestalia scolds her husband.

"They have executed many missions without you rather successfully," Bethany defends her mentors.

"They just made a plan a few hours," Alice says before Jacob can whine any more.

"Oh, they feel that you should never put off to tomorrow what can be done today. If they are all well-rested and there is no tactical value in waiting, they usually plan a mission and then complete that plan. That allows less time for the plan to leak out," Nestalia explains.

"They won't be too long," Bethany assures us.

"Do we even know when they left?" Rosalie asks without thinking or caring about the answer.

"No, I went to look for Eliot and they were all nowhere to be found," Jacob laments.

We all sit on the front steps to wait. Jacob is still trying to garner sympathy from his now rather annoyed spouse. Emmett looks very thoughtful. He seems focused on Nestalia in his thoughts. Oh shit, he's not going to ask what I think he's going to ask, is he? Of course, he does.

"So, Nestalia. What exactly are you?" the moron asks. Rosalie whacks him upside the head for his efforts.

"I'm a wood nymph," Nestalia answers patiently.

"Are you, like, immortal?" Emmett is like a dog with a bone, a dog on the brink of starvation with a bone that still has a little meat on it.

"I'm not like immortal. I'm actually immortal," Nestalia giggles.

"What can a wood nymph do?" my brother is blissfully ignorant of the fact that Rosalie is giving him a death look.

"What do you mean?" Nestalia is rightfully confused at Emmett's idiotic question.

"Well, vampires have super heightened senses, speed, venom, great looks, and general appeal for humans…" Emmett starts.

"Don't forget the ability to suck humans dry," Nestalia interjects.

"…and super-strength. What about nymphs?" Emmett ignores Nestalia's addition to his list.

"You do know that there are many different kinds of nymphs and each kind has its own set of abilities," Jacob responds before Nestalia can.

"Anyway, I guess you will have to find that out for yourselves," Nestalia grins mischievously.

"You will be amazed," Jacob sounds like a magician's assistant right before a trick.

A comfortable silence surrounds us as we continue to wait for their return. Emmett is trying to use his puppy dog face to get Rosalie to talk to him. Rosalie is looking at a fashion magazine that she happened to have brought with her. Jasper and Alice are having one of their moments. Carlisle and Esme are holding hands and gazing at the stars. Bethany looks like she's meditating. Jacob and Nestalia are staring each other down. Okay, Nestalia is staring her husband down with her lips pursed. Jacob is trying to look innocent as he looks back at her. And I'm alone, but that is my own doing. I won't be alone for long, though. Bella will be with me when I prove to her that I have changed. Suddenly there is a noise in the trees. Out walk Bella, Jen, Dakota, and Eliot.

"Did it go well?" Nestalia asks when we arrive back at the house. Everyone is with her on the front steps, waiting for our answer.

"It went well," Jen answers.

"Thank you for asking," I add with a grin.

"Oh, and be prepared, everyone, Sarah will be joining us in the morning," Dakota throws over her shoulder as she heads to her suite.


	22. Questions and Answers

**BELLA**

"Who's Sarah?" the entire Cullen family asks at once.

"She's only the coolest siren ever!" Bethany shouts as she bounces up and down in her excitement.

"Siren, huh. Do we have to keep a close watch on our guys?" Alice asks playfully.

"Probably not, sirens don't work that way," I can't help but laugh at the one question ever woman asks when she first learns about sirens.

"How do they work?" Emmett seems particularly curious.

"Well, for starters, they have to control their powers like every other mythical being," I answer.

"So, she's not _the_ perfect woman?" Rosalie sounds relieved.

"Do you people seriously want a mythical being lesson at this hour?" Jen asks.

"If you don't mind giving one, of course," Carlisle responds.

"Okay, but let's take this inside," Jen replies. We all head to the kitchen.

"Well? Is she _the_ perfect woman?" Rosalie won't let this go.

"Not exactly," I hedge.

"Is she beautiful or not?" Rosalie is annoyed.

"Oh, she's beautiful. It's just that the perfect woman is different from guy to guy," Jen explains.

"What does she look like?" Emmett asks. Of course a guy would ask that.

"You've actually seen her, probably. She's Sarah, the internationally acclaimed singer. She's quite the accomplished musician as well, of course. The girl with auburn hair on the billboard down the way," I inform them.

"The singer with no last name? Just Sarah. She's a siren?" Alice is confused.

"The abilities of a siren can be controlled. When she is using her powers her eyes and lips glow blue. There are also blue patterns that look ancient Greek in design that glow blue all over her skin. When she's using her powers she appears as _the_ perfect girl to each guy that she is affecting. So, when each guy looks at her, he sees his own ideal embodied. Her voice, while exceptional under normal circumstances, causes the guy or guys she is affecting to fall under her influence," Jen tells the vampires.

"So, she lures them to her?" Carlisle inquires.

"It's not just luring those that are being affected. A siren can make them do whatever they want. Despite popular belief, sirens can be female _or_ male," I answer.

"Really? That is so cool!" Emmett booms out.

"In fact, Sarah's brother married a woman in Jake's pack named Leah," I add.

"Are they coming too?" Jasper asks quietly.

"Probably, Sarah and her brother are practically inseparable, even on stage. Sometimes they sing duets, but mostly he plays guitar and does backup vocals. Eli, like every other siren, can play any and every instrument," Jen responds.

"Sounds more like a muse than a siren," Rosalie moodily says.

"The muses were sirens. Have Sarah tell you the story when she gets here," I say that like she should know that already, just to mess with her a bit.

"Will do," Emmett assures us.

"There's a woman in Jacob's pack?" Alice asks.

"There is more than one. Leah was actually seeing Sam rather seriously. He was the pack leader before Jake transformed for the first time. Jake's bloodline is the alpha bloodline, in case you were curious. Anyway, Leah was dating Sam when her cousin, Emily, came to visit. Sam imprinted on Emily…" I start to explain.

"Imprint?" Edward speaks up for the first time tonight.

"For a wolf like Sam, or me, when we meet our soul mate, everything changes. We become attached to them. We also become whatever they need us to be. For us, it's like gravity shifts and our lives revolve around them. We can't choose who we imprint on. Lucky for me I imprinted on Nessie," Jake fills in.

"What happened to Leah then?" Esme shows her motherly concern for her.

"Sam couldn't help it, and he felt terrible for breaking poor Leah's heart, but he left her for Emily. Leah was rightfully devastated. When she began to transform too, Jake asked us to help her as it would have been too painful for her to be a part of the pack that Sam once led. We took her in and tried to get her to move on with her life. She was very angry for a very long time. But, one day an old friend of Jen's came to visit. Sarah happened to have Eli tagging along. When Leah saw Eli…everything changed for her. She wasn't angry at all anymore. They dated for a few years before Eli proposed. Leah was truly happy. She and Sarah became fast friends too. Everything worked out well for Leah," I tell them.

"What ever happened to Sam and Emily?" Alice asks, sounding concerned. Those of us that know the story look at each other.

"The transformations are effected by emotions. Even those of us that have been transforming for many, many years occasionally have difficulty controlling them. One day, Sam got really upset about what people were saying about Emily. They were saying that she was a heartless hussy that stole him from her cousin. Sam tried to get out of the house before he transformed, but he didn't make it. The whole right side of their body got very badly scarred. She had those scars until the day that she died. Sam had to look at them and then be reminded of them every day until the day that he died," Jake answered.

"I thought wolves were immortal," Emmett responds.

"Only as long as they keep transforming are they immortal. After the accident with Emily, Sam stopped transforming. He was going to stop anyway to age with the woman he loved," Nestalia picks up where Jake left off. We start to head to our respective suites.

"WAIT! I almost forgot. Why isn't a guy with magical powers called a warlock or a wizard?" Emmett suddenly bursts out.

"Do you want to field this one?" Jen asks Eliot as she holds his hand.

"No, I like the way that you tell it," he responds as he gives her have a little squeeze.

"Okay. Those terms predate the Council. Back when each type of immortal had their own separate government, witches had a sort of monarchy. Warlocks were the ones in charge of certain areas of the world, like nobles in mortal kingdoms. The one in charge of it all, like a king or queen, was called a wizard. Of course everything was hereditary. Witches didn't care about gender. The first born was the next in line regardless. The young witch that married a mortal was really the next in line to rule. After she cursed all witches so that they could not longer bear children, hereditary lines could no longer be the means of passing power from generation to generation. The noble families then put the war in warlock. The struggle for power was devastating. Not only witches were involved. Other mythical beings took sides in the war. A lot of blood was spilt. It seemed that this conflict consumed the entire world of immortals. No end was in sight for the power struggle for there could be no compromise for those involved," Jen started her tale.

"What happened then that ended the conflict?" Jasper asks. The entire Cullen family looks like children during story hour, so immersed in the tale that Jen was weaving.

"Do you know what an oracle is?" I ask them.

"Someone with psychic abilities? More so than us," Alice tries to answer.

"An oracle is the only true immortal. An oracle cannot die, or be killed, nor can it age. When an oracle gets a vision, it will happen that way…no matter what. Therefore an oracle gets fewer, more detailed visions. That's not to say that an oracle cannot look into the future at any time. No amount of interference can change the outcome of the visions. It's fate. Also, an oracle is all-knowing," I inform the Cullen family.

"I'm surprised that they didn't take over then," Jasper comments.

"There's only one," Eliot responds.

"Yeah, and up to the point where the entire mortal world was heading to hell in a hand-basket, she had hermit tendencies," I say.

"That's an understatement. She's very snarky and doesn't really like most people, mortal or immortal. She also believes strongly in punishing those that break the rules. Even though I have seen her show leniency," Jen adds.

"Did she have a vision?" Carlisle asks.

"Well, she saw the young witch falling for a mortal…" I start.

"Who couldn't? Seriously, it was completely obvious. Things always happen that way," a voice interrupts me. We had all been so involved in our conversation that no one noticed that the oracle had joined us. She leans against the doorway and cocks an eyebrow at us.

"Man, speak of the devil and in she walks," Jen teases her long time friend.

"My ears were burning, so I decided to drop by," the oracle doesn't miss a beat.

"Where are our manners? Cullen family, this is Mary Beth. She's the only oracle," I introduce her to the vampires. There is no need to introduce them as Mary Beth already knows who they are.

"Like the world can handle more than one of me," Mary Beth sasses me as she rolls her eyes.

"Would you like to take it from here?" Jen asks Mary Beth.

"Nah, I'm just here for the monster themed cereal," Mary Beth pours herself some strawberry cereal and sits with us.

"Feel free to correct any discrepancies," Jen says before she goes back to the story.

"Have you ever met me? Besides, you were there," Mary Beth responds as she starts in on her snack.

"Well, Mary Beth had a vision about the Council, a government where each immortal species had equal footing. She also saw herself as the head of the Council, but at that time she kept that little fact to herself," Jen continues.

"Why?" Alice asks Mary Beth.

"I foolishly hoped that part of the vision was not what I knew it was. I'm sad to say that it did," Mary Beth answers.

"Immortals were tired of fighting. The war was taking its toll, and it was way more public than it should have been. I mean, mortals and immortals once lived side by side, but that time had long since passed. That's where they myths come from, by the way. Aging people with sketchy memories told stories to their families. Anyway, when Mary Beth presented the concept, the vast majority of immortals were thrilled to end the war without losing a lot of influence. So the Council was formed. The first representatives on the Council felt that Mary Beth was the only choice to lead and mediate any problems. She is the only one of her kind, so there was no concern about one species dominating the rest. Plus, she's all-seeing and all-knowing. Those are good traits for the leader. So Mary Beth very reluctantly agreed to take on the position…"Jen says.

"I had to take responsibility for the Council. It _was_ my idea, after all," Mary Beth interrupts to explain.

"What happened to those that didn't want the Council?" Jasper asks.

"Well, many proved to be violent and less than subtle around mortals. So, I started the organization of Hunters to take care of any and all security threats however they can," Mary Beth explains.

"What happened to the human records of the war?" Carlisle inquires.

"They were 'lost' to them," Jen says as we hold in our laughter.

"I don't understand. There is no way that big a chunk of records goes missing without mortals noticing," Edward responds.

"Oh, they noticed. They just accepted the loss, slapped a name on the period, and moved on," I reply.

"What did they name that period?" Jasper asks.

"The Dark Ages, of course," Mary Beth answers as we all crack up.


	23. Potential Problem

**BELLA**

Groggily consciousness seeps into my head. Things are fuzzy, but coming to me slowly. Okay, my bed is beneath me. My favorite quilt is wrapped around me. I can smell the scented spray I put on my pillow last night. The bed must have shifted sometime while I was asleep…or I am in a really odd position. Sighing, I ever so slowly open my eyes…and find a pair of brilliant, emerald eyes looking right at me.

"Oh my hell," I mumble as I sit up. The grogginess is completely gone.

"Hello to you too," Sarah says dryly.

"What exactly do you think you are doing?" I ask the siren perched on the edge of my bed.

"We are here to help," Sarah answers. She says that like it is obvious. I peer around my bedroom. She notices my actions and looks around too.

"By 'here' you mean…" I hope she means in the house and not in this room.

"In the house, of course. You are a little off when you first wake up," she just keeps looking at me.

"Not that I don't love to get woken up by someone staring me down, but why aren't you catching up with Jen?" I might be sleepy, but I did notice that.

"She was in conference with Mary Beth when we got here. I think they are still at it," Sarah informs me.

"Oh, I guess they have stuff to discuss," I reply.

"Mary Beth is all-knowing," Sarah points out.

"But Jen is not," I respond out of bed.

"Fair enough, where are you going?" confusion clouds Sarah's voice.

"Last time I checked, showering was not illegal," I joke with her.

"You are so funny," she remarks as I head to the bathroom in my suite.

After my shower, I head to the game room. On the way, I see Jen and Mary Beth heading towards the front door. I detour to go with them. The three of us say our goodbyes and Mary Beth heads off to wherever the hell she feels like going. Jen heads to town to get the mail.

"Bella?" Alice seems tentative.

"Yes, Alice," I turn to look at her.

"Would it be problematic if Rose attacked your friend, Sarah?" she asks quietly.

"Sarah can take care of herself. Why do you ask?" Please, please don't let Sarah have taken a fancy to Emmett before she knew he was taken.

"It's just that Rosalie is very jealous and insecure around Sarah," Jasper says as he comes up behind Alice.

"Isn't she always? I mean, being the most beautiful is kind of her goal in life," I dismiss their concerns.

"This is different, more emphasized," Jasper persists.

"Did Sarah make a move on Emmett before anyone told her he was taken?" I take the direct route.

"Well, no…but Rosalie is being very territorial about the whole thing," Alice reluctantly answers.

"You don't have to worry about Sarah's feelings. She is used to women reacting this way around her," I'm not sure where the real concern is.

"But what if Rosalie snaps and tries to assault Sarah?" Jasper keeps going.

"Like I said, Sarah can take care of herself. Besides, not everyone gets along. Rosalie should know that by now," I hope I'm right.

I appreciate that they felt the need to talk to me, but Alice and Jasper are worried about nothing. Sarah can behave herself. She is a big girl after all. Rosalie has her family to keep her in line. Emmett might not be the smartest member of the Cullen family, but he is no fool. He loves Rosalie and knows how she can be. It doesn't take much to convince myself that they are overreacting. That is until I reach the game room and see for myself what is going on.

Sarah is looking at a music magazine calmly while Rosalie glares at her from across the room. Every time that Sarah shifts, Rosalie growls a little. Everyone else is watching the scene unfold. Maybe Alice and Jasper had a valid point. Jen, Dakota, and I will have to discuss this later. There is no need for anyone to sustain injuries. Fortunately, Eli and Leah choose this time to come in and talk to Sarah.

"What about the tour?" Leah asks her sister-in-law.

"Well, I guess we should do the few that in this area and _then_ take a break," Sarah answers.

"So, we are going to do the concerts in this area?" Eli inquires.

"Of course," Sarah raises an eye brow at her brother.

"Just checking," he responds.

"What are you going to tell the press about the break?" Leah continues to question Sarah.

"We're going to tell them we are taking time to catch up with friends we haven't seen for awhile," Sarah says as she sets the magazine down on an end table.

"I hate to say this, but we might want to head out," Eli says as he stands up.

"We _do_ have a lot to take care of," Leah looks apologetic.

The three of them leave to go back to their hotel. Thank goodness that Leah brought up enough stuff to keep them busy at least a week. Crisis averted…for now. Jen, Dakota, and I will have to broach this subject with Rosalie, no matter how painful it could prove to be. Make no mistake, it could prove very painful. Jen returns from her trip with a sizable box. She motions to Carlisle on her way through the room towards one of the studies in this house. He follows her through the door. I'm glad the medicine books arrived. Carlisle reminds me of a kid in a candy store as he leaves the game room. A smile spreads across my face at the image that thought brings up.


	24. A Delivery and a Walk

**CARLISLE**

I hurry after Jen and take the box from her. She smiles and shakes her head a little. We walk down a hallway and end up in what can only be a study. There's a large, beautifully carved oak desk. There are bookshelves lining the walls. A few of those shelves are empty.

"I cleaned off some shelves for these books. I didn't know how you liked to keep your desk while you research," Jen interrupts my mental tour.

"This is fine," I comment, still in awe of my workspace.

"You have a laptop on the desk, in case you like a digital display. That typewriter has been here awhile, so some minor maintenance might need to be done if you prefer typing on paper. Notebooks, loose leaf paper, and binders are in the drawers on the right side. Sticky notes, tabs, and folders are on the left side. Pencils, either mechanical or wood, and pens, in a multitude of colors, and highlighters, also in a variety in colors, populate the lap drawer," Jen informs me.

"This is amazing," I reply. They have thought of every research need.

"This study is yours while we are at this house. When we move to another house, a stud will be set aside for your work there," Jen keeps eye contact throughout our dialogue.

"Thank you," is all that I can say.

"Now, on to the books. Our medical books on witches are extensive as you can see, but our collection is by no means complete. Like in every medical field, there is constant advancement. I have marked some areas that you will want to start with," she tells me. I pick up a book and flip to a spot that she marked.

"Injuries sustained from spells?" That does not bode well.

"Yes. Bethany is training and does not have complete control over her magic, as you witnessed in the clearing. I'm sure you can appreciate the hazards of training a witch. Even a fully trained witch that has had their magic for centuries can have the occasional accident. Being prepared for such a thing, especially with a witch-in-training on the team, just makes sense. Any injury resulting from magic requires…particular care," Jen answers, still looking at me.

"You have a point," I concede.

"I want to start training your family later tonight, but I think that your time would be better served here," Jen states.

"Okay, they will enjoy that and I have more than enough to keep me busy," I respond.

**BELLA**

Jen, Dakota, and I go for a walk. We have things to talk about and don't want to be disturbed. As much as we love and tolerate our guests, they can be distracting. At least everyone is going to Sarah's concert tomorrow night. That should shake some of the cabin fever Jake and Emmett have.

"When we get back, I want to start training with the vampires," Jen informs us once we are out of hearing range of the safe house grounds.

"Sounds good to me," Dakota responds as she perches on an outcropping of rocks.

"We might have a problem with Rosalie," I tell them.

"Because of Sarah?" Jen asks as she sits on a tall stone near Dakota's spot.

"I don't foresee then getting into a fight while we are Hunting the Volturi," authority rings in Dakota's voice.

"I'm sure she will behave. And besides, Sarah has her career. It's not like she works with us very often," Jen is clearly not concerned.

"Just the same, they might need some ground rules added should they stop acting like adults and start acting like toddlers," I'm not really concerned after Dakota checked.

"After we train with the Cullen family for about a week, they should be ready and we can go after Renata," Dakota break the silence that had settled, comfortably, around us.

"We are going to split into two teams and go after two targets, so we need to decide on a second target," Jen adds.

"What if we went after Jane and Alec, while the second team goes after Renata?" I suggest.

"I like it," Jen responds quickly.

"Me too," Dakota assure me.

"Uh, can Edward be on the other team?" I can't hold the question back.

"Why?" suspicion colors Dakota's voice as she and Jen narrow their eyes at me.

"I'm not sure he'll be able to help himself should I get attacked," I voice my concern. Jen and Dakota look at each and then back at me.

"I see him on the same team as you," Dakota says. Jen doesn't look surprised at all to hear that.

"Bella, just because someone makes a mistake, or several mistakes, doe not mean that they aren't trying to change," Jen tells me gently.

"I know that, really. I just don't want anyone to get hurt because of a mistake in the field," I sigh.

"You can't make an omelet without breaking a few eggs," Jen can't hold back her grin.

"How did I ever function without you telling me these little gems?" I grin too.

"You know, sometimes I wonder," Jen gets through her giggles.

We all head back in good humor. Maybe Jen's right and Edward is trying to change. I hope he understands that we need to be equals. I hope I really let him show me that things will be different. With Jen and Dakota giving him advice and me reality checks, I'm sure that sometime soon a real relationship will be possible.

"Oh, I almost forgot to mention that I saw a healer meeting up with us after our next mission," Dakota says as we enter the grounds that the safe house sits on.

"Then Bethany will have to make a choice soon," I reply.

"Maybe she'll be like me, getting her specialized training and then coming back," Dakota comments.


	25. Renata

**JAKE**

Time has just flown by. I can't believe we have been training a week. Those vampires catch on fast, especially Jasper. He must have a little military training in his background somewhere.

"Jacob, might we have a word?" Jen asks me.

"You know I always enjoy our little chats," I grin at them.

"We need a favor," Bella informs me.

"Anything, just name it," I respond. This must be serious.

"Well, as you know, we are going on our missions tonight," Dakota starts.

"Yeah…" I wish they would just get to the point.

"Tonight is also a full moon," Bella says that like it's important. They know the moon doesn't affect my phasing.

"Why is that important?" impatience is evident in my voice.

"We would have already gotten to that had you not kept interrupting us. So, from this point until the not so far off end, please hold any and all questions and comments," Jen sounds stern, but she is smiling a little and shaking her head.

"Anyway, we would like for you to only transform into a wolf while you can see the moon," Bella rushes through, probably so that I won't interrupt again.

"We know that's not how real werewolves work and you know that is not how real werewolves work, the Volturi, however, think that _is_ how werewolves work. We want them to think that you and Leah are werewolves," Dakota interjects before I can even open my mouth.

"The reason the Volturi don't really understand werewolves is because Caius is ridiculous. He is afraid of them because one werewolf almost killed him _once_. Caius is of the persuasion that if it scares you, you should wipe the entire species off the face of the earth," Jen explains.

"So, why do I have to make them believe I'm a werewolf?" I am so confused.

"Because, when news of the attacks reaches the Volturi, Caius will panic," Bella tells me. I guess that makes sense.

"Do I get to be team leader, then?" I ask Dakota.

"No, I will be the team leader," she informs me.

"Why can't I be team leader?" I can't hide the little twinge of whine that is in my voice.

"Seriously?" they all ask together. Of course they would bring that up.

"I don't know what you could be referring to," I respond.

"We can't have you going and getting distracted if someone throws another rubber ball," Jen teases me.

"Yeah, focus is not your strong suit in with such a distraction," Bella adds.

"That only happened once," I start to defend myself.

"The situation has only arisen once," Dakota points out. It takes all of two seconds before we are all laughing at the memory.

**ALICE**

Things are going well. The split of the teams seems a little arbitrary to me, but there must be a reason for it. Dakota, Jacob, Nestalia, Leah, Eli, Rosalie and I make up our team. Jen, Bella, Sarah, Edward, Eliot, Emmett, and Jasper make up the other team. Esme is staying with Bethany and they are going to bake. Carlisle is completely absorbed in his research. I can't see the way that witches affect the future, and with jake and Leah nearby my gift is not working like it usually does, but I have a feeling that Carlisle will need that information soon. I could be wrong. I hope I'm wrong.

"Are you sure you want to go?" Jasper asks me quietly. Everyone around us is preparing for tonight in their own special way.

"I'm sure. Don't worry, everything will turn out okay. I'm learning to not be so dependant on my ability," I assure him.

"It _is_ nice to not have to hide what you are, but I had hoped to leave my soldier life behind," Jasper comments as he holds my hand.

"Are you sure that _you_ want to go?" I repeat his question.

"Yes, I want to help," he says simply.

We part ways part of the way to our destinations. Our mission is more delicate in nature. We have to get very close to Aro because Renata is always with him. I'm looking forward to seeing the look on his face when he realizes that just because we are the same species doesn't mean that we will side with him. I get the impression that the other mission is more personal in nature. Will Sarah use her powers to influence alec? That would piss Jane off.

Upon arriving at the Volturi's residence, we discover that Aro is taking a walk through the garden. I would have thought that they all would be shut up in the mansion. But I guess Aro is trying to make a point. Too bad the point that is going to be made is that no one in the Volturi is safe. When they took out Chelsea, there was quite the stampede as members of the Elite Guard who were not, themselves, loyal to the Volturi came to their senses. Add tot hat the whole affair with Demetri and you get quite the panic.

Jacob and Leah are the first ones to land near the vampires. Suddenly, the clouds move and brilliant light from the full moon illuminates the garden. Both of them shiver as they transform in to horse-sized wolves. Aro and Renata react appropriately to the surprise. They didn't see us coming and Aro, in his arrogance, has only Renata with him. Eli and Nestalia are the next to join the fray. Nestalia's skin tans to a nice brown and her hair grows and turns a mossy green with flowers throughout it. Her outfit changes to look like an elegant dress, made of leaves, that stops at her knees. Her feet are bare. Both Aro and Renata faintly shimmer pink for a moment.

Renata goes to attack Nestalia, but Jake tackles her to the ground and holds her there with Leah's help. Nestalia says something in a language that I don't recognize and a faint green glow emits from her body. Aro screams in pain as he is slowly turned into a wooden sculpture. Some minor members of the Elite Guard that stayed with the Volturi choose now to make an appearance. Eli and Leah attack them. Unable to be contained anymore, Rosalie joins the fun. Dakota places a hand on my shoulder to tell me to stay with her. They don't really need us yet.

Once they push the fight from view, Dakota and I join Jake and Nestalia. Jake scampers after the others to have a little fun himself. Renata gets up and looks at us. She knows what will happen.

"I don't suppose we could come up with a different arrangement?" she half-heartedly asks us.

"You suppose correctly," Dakota informs her as she draws her sword.

I lurch forward and rip off an arm while Dakota takes a leg. Nestalia says something different, but probably in the same language, and glows again. Renata shrieks in agony as the roots of nearby trees grow through her body and constrict around her where she lay on the ground. Dakota conjures pink flames that finish the poor vampire. We all turn to look at Aro. Nestalia restores him to life. Jake comes flying out of nowhere at Aro and he and Leah use their weight to make sure he doesn't go anywhere.

"Know this Aro, we are coming for you. Oh, you won't die this night, but you will meet your fate because of us. The three of you will be utterly alone before that fate finds you," Dakota informs him. Jake and Leah get off of the stunned leader of the Volturi and he scurries back to his hole. Just then, the cloud cover returns and the two wolves phase back. We all head home then. The trip is uneventful. Jake and Leah wait until we are a ways away from the Volturi's residence before they transform back and then they race to the safe house. Nestalia seems to be communing with the forest. Rosalie is, amazingly enough, having a civil conversation with Eli.

The very moment we set foot on the safe house's grounds, Dakota freezes. I know that look, she's having a vision. Horror washes over her features only to be replaced by heart-wrenching sobs. Her hand flies out and grabs my wrist. Through her magic, Dakota shows me her vision. Time slows down and my surroundings fade away to reveal…

"We have to do something!" I shout as everyone in the house comes rushing out to us. Dakota just looks at me with tears running down her face. If I could cry I would be right there with her.

"There is no time. We can't get there fast enough to change anything. It might have happened already," Dakota says through her tears.


	26. Jane and Alec

**BELLA**

Something is going on. Jen made the team split without talking to anyone about it. When I asked her about it, she told me that she had a feeling that this arrangement would be needed specifically by the end of the night. I have yet to see her instinct fail her, so I didn't push the matter. However, when Dakota offered to look ahead to check it out, Jen said that would be a bad idea. She had a good point though. If something did go wrong in the vision, we would be distracted with trying to change the outcome. We would not be able to do what we were there to do. And there's the question you always have to ask yourself when a vision is involved. Do you do something because you would have anyway, or because the vision said you would?

I shake away these thoughts and look around. Everyone that is going is milling about the foyer, except Jen. She comes from the direction of the study that Carlisle is holed up in, must have gone to see if he was all set. We all head to the tree line. Both teams travel together for a ways. There are some murmured conversations.

Once we split up, we head to our respective entry points. My team actually enters the residence in search of Jane and Alec. They will probably be found in a large training room on the underground level. While their powers don't work on witches or sirens, they are very effective on vampires. In anticipation of this, the vampires on our team will hold back until it's time for the kill.

We get to the room and find the repulsive members of the Elite Guard that were are after. Believe it or not, they are shackled to the far wall. They look scraggily, like they have been here a bit. I can't help but smile at their theatrics. Really, who would believe this scene? Jen moves forward and then stops about halfway across the room.

"Well, well, well. What have we here?" Jen asks in her quiet, deadly voice.

"The Volturi are holding us here," Jane tries for scared and innocent.

"I don't believe that, do you Bella?" Jen sneers.

"Not for the briefest of moments," I join her in sneering at them.

"It's true. When you guys killed Chelsea, we realized we were not really tied to them. We tried to get away, but they caught us and imprisoned us," Alec attempts to convince us of our charade.

"Hmm…nope, I'm still not buying it. Are you?" Jen turns to me.

"I can't say I'm convinced," I answer.

"I'll tell you what, though. I want this to be fun, so we're going to give you guys a bit of a head start," Jen informs the doomed vampires.

"I suggest you take it and not waste any time," I add.

We stare Jane and Alec down. They stare back for a second. Then, they shed their 'restraints' and bolt out the door. None of the vampires that came with us cry out in pain, so I guess they took my advice. Jen nods at the guys. I grab Sarah's wrist and the three of us project to the edge of the Volturi's land. Eliot arrives moments after us. He told the Emmett, Jasper, and Edward to wait five minutes and then meet us here. We don't have to wait much more after that before our targets arrive. They stop dead in their tracts.

"As you have probably noticed by now, your powers don't work on us," Jen states coldly.

"What if we help you?" Jane tries to bargain.

"Clearly loyalty is not a virtue you possess," Jen responds.

"But I find it interesting, though not surprising in the least, which you are trying to latch on the most powerful side. You know that the reign of the Volturi is at an end," I comment.

"And you two will head the new regime," Jane simply says it like a fact.

"I don't think so," I look at her like the idiot she is.

"We prefer to leave the governing to more qualified individuals in the Council," Jen snidely adds.

Sarah's eyes and lips glow blue as she comes forward. Ancient Greek patterns glow blue as they snake across her skin. She starts to sing in her native tongue. Alec falls under her spell quickly. He didn't have a chance. Slowly he turns to face Jane and uses his power to cut off her senses. Jane reacts in the only way she knows how, by using her own power on Alec to try and make him snap out of his trance.

Due to the time constraints, what with vampires that can be affected by the powers of the dynamic duo, Sarah stops her fun. I snap my fingers and blue sparkles shimmer around my fingers and Jane and Alec. Just then, Edward, Jasper, and Emmett show up. Unfortunately, so do a handful of underling members of the Elite Guard who are apparently truly loyal to the Volturi. Either that, or they think the Volturi have a shot at winning, which they don't.

"We're leveling the field," Alec sounds smug.

"Darlin', there is no way in hell that you can level the field with us," Jen informs them.

"You are playing with the big kids now," I add.

"Is there nothing we can do to change your minds?" Jane seems to finally understand that they are going to lose.

"Nothing comes to mind," Jen rolls her eyes.

"At all?" Jane persists.

"At all," my tone leaves no chance for a debate to continue.

One of the Guard members gets jumpy and launches at us. Eliot unsheathes his sword and cuts off an arm in one, smooth motion. The vampire staggers back and assesses the damage. Then, he tries again…idiot. This time, Eliot cuts off the other arm. Usually, by this point, the opponent realizes how the fight will end, not this time though. The poor bastard keeps on going. Eliot cuts off both legs at once. Then, the fallen vampire actually tries to curse us. Like that is going to work coming from someone with no magic. Please, let's leave that shit to the professionals. He gets decapitated for his trouble. Green flames consume the pieces. In its light, I can see the fear in the eyes of the rest of the vampires going up against us. I almost feel bad for them…almost.

Emmett and Jasper decide to take a more proactive role in the matter. Each of them make short work of their opponents and I help them out with blue flames to finish the job. Edward is staying close to me. He thinks he's being subtle. Sarah goes for a vampire of her own. People underestimate her abilities in combat because of her musical talents…and she's so thin that if you look at her wrong, you snap her in half. The fact of the matter is she holds a few black belts. Sarah calls martial arts her music in motion. I guess I can see that, you _do_ have to be rather graceful to do well in them.

Eliot and Edward launch at the two remaining underlings. It's about time Edward got involved. They tear their opponents apart, Eliot with his sword and Edward with his bare hands. By this time Sarah has gotten tired of messing with her prey and finishes the thing off. Jane looks pained and Alec looks panicked.

"What's the matter? Can't use you powers?" Jen teases them.

"What did you do to us?" Alec has desperation lacing his tone.

"You can't do that!" Jane screams, outraged.

"Magic can be a bitch that way," I answer her.

Jen jumps to Alec's shoulder and then to a tree. Alec turns to face her new location. That leaves Jane for me, perfect. That bitch is going down. We both watch as Jen plays around a bit with Alec. She shoots violet lighting at him while he leaps about attempting to dodge it. Jane tries to attack me then, but I just deflect her into a tree. We spar a bit before I get down to business. The others on our team have finished the other targets off. There were only a few piles of ashes to indicate anyone had been there in the first place. I remember a spell that brings your opponent to the brink of death, and often pushes them over. I get ready to cast it. The timing has to be just right. My hand comes up and glows blue as Jane leaps at me. Wait for it…wait for it… Out of nowhere, Edward knocks me out of the way right at the moment I was waiting for. I tried to stop the spell, but it was too late. I felt the energy leaving my fingers. The only thing to do is watch in horror as my spell hits Jen. She falls from the tree and lands in a pile on the ground. I rush over to her…but she's lying on the ground…not moving at all.


	27. A Note

**CARLISLE**

As directed, I wait until Edward is out of 'hearing' range. Jen left an envelope with me. Something is inside. I am very curious, but I focused on other things. Whatever is in the envelope, Jen doesn't want Edward to know about it yet. I left my door open to hear when they leave. The envelope is staring at me from my desk. They finally leave on their missions. I find a letter inside of the envelope.

_Carlisle,_

_ I must confess that I have ulterior motives with marking sections. While I did tell you the truth, training witches is dangerous work, the real reason is a little more self-serving. Perhaps the best place to start is the beginning._

_ As you know, Mary Beth is the oracle. Her visions are set in stone, which is why she gets so few of them. Very often, though, she gets what she calls premonitions. For premonitions, the events surrounding something can change based on peoples actions and choices. The results, however, are always the same. This is important to remember as you read._

_ Mary Beth paid us a visit not so long ago, as I'm sure you remember. When she first arrived, I didn't think much of it. We are old friends and drop in on each other when we can. However, when Mary Beth and I were alone, she told me the real reason that she was paying me a visit. She had had a premonition about me._

_ When we go after Jane and Alec tonight, her premonition will happen. I know you are wondering what it was that she saw, but bear with me for a bit. Edward is on the same team as Bella for a reason. They need to get used to working with each other. I know that putting them on the same team is dangerous idea, especially with our targets. But lessons need to be learned by both of them and if it takes someone getting hurt, or dying, then so be it. Yes, I can decide that because I will be the one put in that position. Jen's premonition, you see, is that Edward's overprotective nature will cause Bella to accidentally discharge a particularly nasty spell at me. I will be pretty badly hurt by the spell, I might even die. I don't know how it will all work out as Jen says the premonition abruptly stops after I get hit. That kind of ending means that someone, I don't know who, has a choice to make._

_ To be on the safe side, I asked you to study the marked passages. I'm sure you have studied them with care. Once you have finished reading this, it might be helpful if you prepared a room for me. The entire underground level of this safe house, and most others, is a miniature hospital. You are familiar, I'm sure, with all the equipment. Know that I have the utmost faith in your medical abilities._

_ Try not to be too hard on Edward, he can't help himself. He needs to learn that he can't decide what is best for other people. Bella is a strong, capable witch and he needs to realize that. Likewise, Bella needs to learn to let go. Everyone makes mistakes. Changing is hard, especially for immortals. They need to learn and grow together. I know that they belong together. Granted, they will feel horrible when we get back, but hopefully they will talk the whole thing out._

_ I could dodge the spell, but I won't. The events surrounding them change, but the results are always the same. In the end, I will get hurt and I'd rather it be sooner rather than later. I've accepted it. Everything will turn out alright regardless of my fate. If I don't die, then nothing really changes. If I die, then life will still go on for others._

_ Please explain all this to Edward. Let him know that I don't blame him for his actions. Also, tell Bella that I left a note for her on her dresser. Don't feel bad if you can't mend me. Sometimes it is just your time to go._

_-Jen_

I finish reading the note. Edward will do something foolish in arrogant attempt to 'save' Bella…again. Will he never learn? I don't know how much time I have before Jen is brought in. These books need to go to the hospital wing with me. I spy the box that they were shipped in sitting in a corner of my study. That is convenient. Once the books are packed back in the box, I carry it downstairs. The miniature hospital is well stocked. All that needs to be done is a little rearranging to make everything that I might need accessible.

**ALICE**

This turn of events complicates things. Edward, you idiot, what have you done? Will Bella be able to even look at you if you kill her mentor and best friend? Carlisle needs to be ready. I dart through the house, following his scent when I don't find him in the study. It takes me downstairs to what looks like a little hospital. I find Carlisle rearranging things.

"Carlisle, Dakota had a vision. In it, Jen gets seriously hurt," I start to explain the situation to him.

"I know," he pauses long enough to look at me.

"Edward tries to protect Bella, even though she is completely capable of taking care of herself. And a spell misfires and hits Jen," I continue as his words do not sink in.

"I know," he repeats.

"Carlisle, she might already be dead." I might be a little hysterical at this point.

"Alice, I know," he finally gets through to me.

"But how could you know? Dakota just had her vision," I ask him.

"Jen wrote me a note," Carlisle calmly states.

"She knew this would happen?" I can't hold back the panic in my voice.

"She knew it would happen," he answers.

"And she went anyway?" What the hell is she thinking?

"Why don't you just read her note? That way you will know everything that I do in this matter," Carlisle patiently offers me the note.

I have to read the whole thing twice before everything in it registers. She knew what was going to happen and went anyway. She's not even going to try and change things. Not many people would be willing to go this far for their friends. Edward and Bella had better get over their issues.

"Do you need me to do anything?" I ask Carlisle as he bustles around the room.

"Every little bit helps," is his only response.


	28. Red Haze

**BELLA**

Jen is breathing…barely, but breathing nonetheless. Eliot scoops her up and then projects them both back to the safe house. A red haze settles around me. Edward made me curse my best friend and mentor. The fact that it was accidental is irrelevant. I turn to face him. At least he has the good sense to look afraid. Unfortunately, I still love him. If I kill him, I will regret it and if Jen survives, she will be beyond disappointed.

My focus shifts to the only ones that I can take out my fury on, Jane and Alec. They will suffer. Rage induced power courses through my veins. My right hand crosses over my body to make a fist in front of my left shoulder. Blue throwing stars appear In between my fingers. I throw them at Alec. They stick in his body and catch fire. He tries to douse the flames by rolling on the ground. This only serves to drive the stars through his skin. A sadistic chuckle escapes my mouth. I know it is not healthy at all, but his pain makes me feel a little better.

After a couple more rolls, Alec strays too close to me. My foot comes down on his hand. A sound crack resounds as that hand turns to dust underneath my heel. My eyes narrow at Jane. She turns tail and abandons her partner-in-crime. That is not remotely surprising as Jane has only ever really takes care of Jane. Alec makes a strangled sound in the direction that she headed. He tries in vain to crawl away from me. I am in front of him so quickly that I can practically see his head spinning. Smiling at him, I bring down my foot on his remaining hand. Another, fairly satisfying, crack sounds in the night. It is followed by a pathetic whimper from Alec.

My elbow makes contact with Alec's lower back. He lays there and tries to keep his agony inside. This only serves to make me bored with this particular prey. Summoning more powerful magic, I shoot blue lightning out of my hands at Alec. This is not the usual lightning that I shoot. This lightning starts to age the suffering immortal before me. Alec cries out in surprise and pain as he rapidly ages until he becomes dust. The dust is scattered by a breeze.

Now I go after Jane. That bitch can run, but she cannot hide. Her path is certainly pain to see. It would appear that, in her panic, Jane made no effort to hide her route. Witches can't run as fast as vampires can. I stretch out my left hand. I go to make a fist, but my hand closes around the handle of the broom that appears instead. Brooms aren't a necessity, anything will do. But since a witch has to hold on to whatever they are using to fly anyway, it might as well be something you can sit on too. Flying makes short work of the chase and I soon see the terrified vampire below me.

I summon one blue throwing star and send it flying. Instead of sticking in her skin, it severs her Achilles tendons. Jane sprawls, face first, on the ground. She wails in pain as she uses her hands to claw her way forward. I start to circle her in the air. One more throwing star cuts off both of her hands.

"JUST FINISH ME OFF!" Jane screams up at me.

"I think not," I answer as I shoot blue lighting at her.

"Why?" she cries out.

"I'm enjoying myself," I simply state as I shrug a little.

"Is that your only reason?" she gasps out as she gets quiet.

"No, but it is the only reason that you will get from me," acid drips from my words.

"Why?" she asks once more.

"Because it is the only reason that you have ever needed to inflict pain on others," I finish the conversation by saying.

Quiet builds the intensity of the moment as Jane's pain-dulled mind processes my answer to her last question. Her eyes grow wider and wider as she realizes her pain has only begun. My magic crackles as I send lightning that only creates blinding pain her way. She can't hold in her screaming as she writhes on the ground. After a few more wail inducing bolts, the red haze that surrounds me starts to fade a little. I set her ablaze with blue flames that slowly burn her alive. I continue to circle her until the ashes of her body fly away into the night.

Looking around, I notice for the first time that I am alone. The others must have gone back to the safe house. I sort of enjoy the brief moment of solitude as I race back to find out what happened to Jen. When I get to the safe house, no one is around on the main floor. Dread starts to fill me as I make my way to the hospital floor. No one is in sight the entire way.

Jen is lying on a bed, hooked up to monitors. Carlisle is looking at one of the many medical books that are about witches. I enter the room and he looks up to catch my gaze. I can only look at the barely breathing form of Jen as she lies there though. The red haze is almost, but not quite, gone now.

"Well?" I ask Carlisle even though I don't know if I am really ready for the answer.

"She's alive," he sounds like he is trying to sooth me.

"…barely…" I can't even think as I respond in a monotone.

"According to the medical books that you two graciously provided for my research, she is stable," Carlisle continues to comfort me.

"Is she improving?" I whisper.

"No, I'm sorry," he answers sadly.

"Why not?" I wonder out loud. I can't stop staring at the nearly lifeless body before me.

"I don't know, but I will keep looking," he assures me.

"Can I see her alone?" I need to see her alone.

"Of course, I'll be back in awhile to check on her," he responds.

Carlisle leaves me with Jen. As I look at her, the red haze completely dissipates and I breakdown in sobs.


	29. Blue Outlook

**EDWARD**

Jane lunges at Bella. I react instinctively and knock her out of the way. Something whizzes by my ear. Bella had been casting a spell. She had been in no real danger. I turn to apologize to her, only to find a horrified look marring Bella's beautiful face. Following her gaze, I see Jen falling from her perch and landing in a heap on the ground. Realization dawns as Bella rushes towards her fallen friend. When I went to protect Bella, he spell misfired and hit Jen. I am responsible for killing my love's nest friend and mentor. Wait, Jen is still breathing. She's not dead. The relief that washes over me is brief as Jen does not get up.

Eliot is scooping up his wife and they vanish in green dust. Bella stands up, but her back is to me. She turns and glares at me. The air suddenly gets oppressively dense. A crackling sound fills the night. Bella's eyes glow red as she takes a single step towards me. She is _pissed_. My eyes widen as I consider the fact that Bella might not be in full control of her magic. She sneers at me and then turns her focus back on Alec and Jane. Four strong arms wrap around me as Jasper and Emmett drag me away. I try to struggle, but my brothers refuse to release me. We make it to a clearing about halfway back to the safe house before they stop moving. Sarah rushes by us on her own way back. That means that Bella is alone. I renew my efforts.

"Stop it, Edward," Jasper commands, sending powerful waves of calm at me.

"No, Bella is all alone with Jane and Alec," I try to continue my struggle in vain.

"Edward, have you learned nothing since we ran into Bella again?" Emmett booms at me.

"She is more than capable of taking care of both of those idiots all by herself," Jasper adds.

"But…" I start to defend myself.

"No, Edward. You screwed up…again," Emmett interrupts.

"This time your mistake could prove fatal for someone this time," Jasper continues for Emmett.

"Jane was attacking the woman that I love," I can't hide the whine in my voice.

"Everyone, except you, saw it for what it really was. Bella was biding her time until there was no way Jane could dodge her attack," Jasper snaps at me.

"Let me ask you something. What if Jen dies? That is a completely valid concern at this point," Emmett points out the one thing that I had hoped he would not.

"Will Bella ever be able to look at you again and not think of this night?" Jasper pushes the issue to make his own point.

"I don't know," I whisper.

My brothers are right. I acted without thinking. Bella expected me to treat her like the powerful witch she has become, and I failed. It was the first test of my ability to act like she is the equal she is, and I completely bombed. If Jen dies, will Bella ever be able to look at me without sadness and pain in her eyes? Will she ever be able to forgive me? Even if Bella can, and does forgive me, will I eve be able to live with myself? Can I ever forgive myself? I have taken mortal lives before, but only those that were deserving of it. If Jen dies, then I will have killed someone that, while not necessarily innocent, was doing something good and saving lives.

"Come on," Emmett interrupts my wallowing in self-pity.

"Huh?" is all I say in response.

"We need to get to the safe house so that we can check on Jen before Bella gets there. With what she has to come to terms with, Bella does not need us underfoot," Jasper explains.

We run to the safe house. On our way through the house, I get a lot of pissed looks. Alice simply points down a stairwell. As we go down the stairs, all three of us pause when we hear wailing. Dakota is sitting by Jen's bed, sobbing. Eliot looks like the weight of the world is on his shoulders. He doesn't even look up as we enter. How would I feel if our positions were reversed? Carlisle is looking at monitors and checking pages in a few medical volumes. Jen is barely breathing.

"I can't even begin to tell you how sorry I am," I say to Eliot.

"Don't worry about it," he mumbles, tonelessly. His answer surprises me.

"She knew," Carlisle simply states as he hands me a piece of paper.

I read the note all the way through twice, just to make sure that I am reading it right. Jen knew this was going to happen. Mary Beth's premonition does not surprise me at all. It was only a matter of time before I screwed things up…again. Jen chose not to dodge the spell. We were fairly close to the medical facilities that she would need and a doctor who had access to a variety of medical texts that would be needed for her care. There is a chance that she can pull through. Dakota seems to have cried herself out. Silence falls on the room. Suddenly Eliot's reaction does not surprise me at all anymore. Jen had told him in advance and he had accepted her decision. He loves her so much that he would trade places if he could. You can see it in his eyes. My heart breaks for them as I look on.

"Bella is on her way," Dakota sniffs.

"Why don't we stay with you tonight?" Alice suggests as she and Rosalie appear at the door.

"I'll be back in a couple of hours," Eliot says out of nowhere.

"Where are you going?" Carlisle gently asks him.

"Someone has to tell Jen's family," Eliot responds before he vanishes in green dust once more.

My brothers drag me to the game room where we find Jacob and Eli. All of the women have gone to be with Dakota for as long as she needs them. I had forgotten that she and Jen were so close. Someone suggests a football game. It might have been Emmett in his eternal quest to lighten the mood. Even though no one really wants to play, we all head out the back door. Bella won't have to worry about running into anyone in the house. Right as the first pass is thrown, we all hear Bella arrive at the house. The front door slams behind her. We keep on playing for hours, until Jake and Eli get tired and head to their respective suites to crash.


	30. Inspiration

**BELLA**

It feels like I have been crying for hours but there are still more tears. Eliot comes in and sits next to me. Dakota appears in a cloud of pink dust and sits on my other side. The occasional sniffle escapes to break the ominous quiet. A few tears escape the stoic Eliot's eyes as he looks at the form of his one, true love. Carlisle comes back to check on her.

"How did it go?" Dakota asks me.

"I took care of Jane and Alec," I answer quietly.

"Did you lose control?" She continues to question me.

"Maybe a little. How did things go with Jen's family?" I change the focus to Eliot.

"It went about how you think it did. It took awhile to find her mother, who was very distraught and may or may not drop by, by the way. The rest of her family still refer to her as the abomination and could possibly throw a party to celebrate her death," Eliot informs us.

We lapse into silence once more. Jen's family, with the exception of her mother of course, is the worst. Just because her mother fell in love with a mortal, they hate Jen as a product of that love. Both Jen and her mother have been treated like they are lepers or contracted the plague by their so called family.

Eliot starts to stir. Dakota and I turn to look at him. He gets up and walks over to a stack of books. I join him. Dakota just stares at us a bit.

"What are you two doing?" she asks, confused.

"We are looking through witch medical tomes until we find something useful," Eliot answers for both of us.

"Really?" she sounds surprised.

"Enough is enough. We aren't helping Jen by sitting around and moping. We need to take a more active role," I tell her. She moves to a different stack of books and starts to look with us.

"Bella, Jen left something for you in your suite," Carlisle whispers to me.

I project myself to my suite to save time. Time will be needed to look for a cure for Jen. But she left me something that might be the clue that we need. An envelope catches my eye, lying on my bed. Jen used her seal to close it. Carefully, I open the envelope to find a letter inside.

_Bella,_

_ I know that you are angry with Edward. Don't bottle it all up, remember last time you tried that. Let him know how you feel, preferably in a non-lethal way. He already feels awful, I'm sure._

_ By this time you will have guessed that Mary Beth had a premonition about this. You are right. That is why she paid us a visit. I know the spell is coming, but I won't dodge it. You know as well as I do that with that particular curse, it will go until it hits a living being. If it doesn't hit me, it will hit someone else._

_ Mary Beth told me that her premonition had a very sudden ending. We both know what that means. I hope that the choice is not whether or not you are going to kill Edward. You will feel terrible and regret it for the rest of your life if you kill him. You are in love with him. You two are destiny, I know it._

_ You and Dakota make a good team. So, even if I die, I know that you both will carry on. You each bring abilities to the table that make it possible to find anyone you seek after._

_ Don't worry, Bella. Everything will turn out alright._

_-Jen_

I absently take the note with me when I project back to Jen's hospital room. Tucking it in my pocket, I go back to looking through the volumes of medical texts. Jen is telling me something, giving me a clue as to where the answer lies. I just don't understand what it is. What is she trying to say? Then, it hits me.

"Dakota, did you actually See the Healer coming to us?" I ask as I turn to look at my friend.

"I Saw him with us. The vision wasn't about how he got there though, just him offering to train Bethany. Why?" she sounds as confused as she looks.

"What if he doesn't come to us like we had assumed?" excitement fills my voice. I know what Jen was trying to tell me in her letter.

"I don't follow," Dakota responds as she sets the book in her hands down.

"What if we are supposed to find him? Jen said that we could find _anyone_ that we seek after in her note to me," I explain to her.

"Okay…" Dakota still does not get it.

"If we were supposed to find the answer in a book, Jen would have said _anything_ not _anyone_," I explain.

You two go on and search for the Healer. We have more than enough helpers here," Eliot catches a little of my excitement.

"So, we're off to see the wizard," Dakota sings.

"Do we have to have a _Wizard of Oz_ sing-along every time we go looking for a Healer?" I ask while trying to keep a straight face.

"Yes," she says that like it is a requirement.

"Okay, but we are not going to start singing until we hit the end of the safe house's grounds," I counter. She fakes a pout, but nods anyway.

We both give Eliot a comforting hug and squeeze Jen's hand. Of course, Carlisle offers to tell the others what we are doing. We take him up on that offer. Edward will not be tagging along this time. I know that he did not mean for Jen to get hurt, I'm still a little miffed with him. Talking does not seem to help him get through his issues. I can't date him if he doesn't grow as a person, at least a bit anyway. It seems we are at an impasse and only time will tell which direction our relationship will go. Dakota and I stop at the edge of the grounds. I turn and watch my enchantment cover the house like a glittery, blue blanket. Edward misbehaved, so color him grounded. He literally cannot leave the safe house. Edward hunted with his family two nights ago, so thirst should not be a problem during his time under house arrest. I can't be too careful after last night.


	31. Searching Dreams

**BELLA**

I love Dakota, but seriously. We have sung through the entire _Wizard of Oz_ soundtrack twice. She's my friend, but I might maim her if she starts it again. We have been on the hunt for the Healer for over 24 hours. It's been much longer since either of us has slept. In light of all that, we decide to camp out and catch up on some sleep so that we are fresh to continue the search. We find a tree that both Dakota and I like and bed down on a couple of limbs. I know it seems weird, but there is nothing as comfortable to sleep on as the right branch. That might have something to do with the fact that witches need to be in tune with themselves and the environment around them in order for their magic to function properly. Drifting off to sleep is not going to be hard because we are so exhausted…

Jen is calling to me from the ground. I turn to look at her. My face must betray my confusion because Jen smiles and shakes her head a little.

"If you have a question, why don't you walk with me and ask?" Jen suggests.

"…okay…" I respond as I land right next to her. We start walking in a random direction. I am so confused.

"Well?" Jen looks at me expectantly.

"Are you all better?" I ask, hoping for it to be the truth.

"No, sorry," she answers.

"I don't understand," I confess.

"You are dreaming and I am the product of your desire to deal with something," Jen says that like it should be obvious.

"What?" I don't know where this is going.

"Darlin', I am a figment of your imagination in your dream. Anything that I know, you already know. Bella, you need to ask the right question." She is right. I do know the issue at hand.

"Have I outgrown Edward?" I ask her…myself…whoever.

"What do you think?" she asks me in return.

"He is still hung up on the whole 'all-knowing protector' thing. I don't need a protector. I need an equal," I sigh.

"That makes sense. You need to consider what is best for you," Jen adds.

"Can't I just make him get over his issues?" I say, irritated.

"You know that if he doesn't get over them for real, it does not mean anything," Jen tell me what I already know.

"But, I _love_ him and he is not changing," I protest.

"Well, Edward needs to take stock too. You also should consider what is best for him," she states.

"That is contradictory," I comment.

"In a relationship, you must consider the needs of you both. However, you should never just stay in a relationship because of the other person. It's not healthy for you to do that," Jen explains.

"I just wish we could get past this awkward stage. We are in love, but we seem to bring out bad qualities in each other," I can't help but whine a bit.

"Which leads us to another question, do you even want to be in a relationship with Edward again?" she asks a hard question. I guess I have been avoiding that one.

"Of course," my defensive mechanism kicks in.

"Come one, I am you. Be honest with yourself." Jen has a point…I mean I have a point…this is an odd situation.

"…I don't know…" I trail off.

"Don't you think this conversation is better had with Edward?" Man, even a dream Jen that is a product of my imagination points out the things that I want to avoid for as long as possible.

"I will sit down and have a heart to heart conversation with him right after Dakota and I bring back the Healer. I don't want you to die," I tell her, even though I know it is not really her that I am talking to.

"I know that you will. And don't worry, everything will work out," she even sounds like the real Jen.

"Bella," Dakota is shaking out of my weird, yet informative, dream.

"What?" I ask, groggily.

"We are about to have company. The Healer is almost here," Dakota answers me.

"How long have we been asleep?" I'm not sure I really want to know the answer to that.

"About seven hours," she replies.

Rubbing the sleep out of my eyes, I sit up and swing my legs over the side of the limb. Dakota seems just as tired as I still feel. We really need a few more hours of sleep. Oh well, I won't complain. This is the opportunity that we need to get help for Jen. The Healer comes toward us. He is tall and lanky with red curls and green eyes. We all stare at each other for a couple moments while Dakota and I process his appearance through our sleep-deprived minds.

"Who the hell are you?" the Healer greets us.

"I'm Dakota, a Seer, and this is Bella, a Hunter," Dakota answers him.

"Who the hell are you?" I repeat his question.

"I'm Nathaniel, a Healer," he responds.

"We need a Healer. You see, due to a complicated chain of events that would take many chapters to get to, I accidentally hit another witch with a curse. And now she is stable, but in no way improving. Do you think that you could help us out?" I get right to the point.

"Oh, and the three of us are training a witch that seems to have talents in Healing. She might want to be around to observe," Dakota adds. This is not when I would have brought that up, but she's the Seer. I just take care of immortal security threats.

"Of course I will do what I can to help you guys out," Nathaniel assures us.

"Don't Healers have to take an oath to come to any immortals aid when they need it?" I inquire like the cynic I apparently have become.

"Don't Hunters have to take an oath to protect the secrecy of all immortals, no matter what the cost is?" he counters.

"Touché, I think we will get along fairly well Nathaniel," I concede.

"That's good, because it would be a complete drag if you were a total bitch," Nathaniel says. He is snarky and that means he will have no problems with the motley crew that we are currently hosting.

"I'm glad that you can hold your own with Bella. That means that you will be just fine with the rest of the immortals at the safe house," Dakota informs him. She sounds excited to have him stay with us. I wonder if maybe she finds him attractive. This could lead to teasing when Jen wakes up. Hey, there is nothing wrong with teasing your friends like tweenagers every so often.

Nathaniel looks at us like we might be unhinged. Okay, he could be onto something there. But who doesn't seem a little crazy after what we have been through. I bet Eliot is sending the demented vibe to the vampires and other immortals he is forcing to search through endless sources of medical information on witches. And now I'm talking to myself. I could use about a decade's more sleep, but that will have to wait as Dakota and I lead the Healer back to the safe house with us. Maybe my conversation with Edward should wait until I am not so slap happy…


	32. Wishes

**BELLA**

One of two things is happening. One possibility is that I am hallucinating because of all that stress and lack of sleep that have accumulated over the past few days. The only other choice is that Dakota has found love. She walks by Nathaniel and keeps making eyes at him. I can't lie to myself, it's kind of weird. It's not that I think that Dakota should be alone, because I definitely don't. It's just that she has never shown much interest towards being in a relationship. In fact, until right now, I have never seen her even holding hands with anyone. Wait, they are holding hands?

Other than the odd factor, the trip back to the safe house is uneventful. The entire population of the safe house is sitting in Jen's room with a book in their hands. For some reason I am not surprised at all. The ones that need sleep look dead on their feed. By the way they are looking at us, we look no better. Dakota might be more cheerful, but she still has bags under her eyes.

"Everybody, this is Nathaniel," Dakota announces in a sing-song voice.

"The Healer?" Jake asks us, his voice as dead as he looks.

"So I'm told," Nathaniel answers him, looking at the immortals before him.

"That is great. I'm Carlisle. I hope you don't mind my observing," Carlisle responds.

"Of course I don't mind. I take it that you are the vampire doctor," Nathaniel assures him.

"Okay, all those who require sleep, except Nathaniel of course, must get some shut-eye. I mean it, doctor's orders," Carlisle states firmly.

"Are you serious?" Eliot asks.

"As a heart-attack," he assures us.

The Cullen family, sans Carlisle, herds us to our respective suites. I guess there is no choice about when to have my discussion with Edward. We will just have to set aside time after I have slept enough to look more alive than he is.

**CARLISLE**

I know I come across as too concerned, but they just looked so tired. Anyway, that gives Nathaniel a chance to examine Jen without a lot of distractions. He looks like he is giving a normal examination. Her blood pressure, heart rate, and brain activity is checked and double checked. I watch him closely, but if I did not know he was a Healer, I would think that he was a mortal doctor. He takes in the piles of books around the room.

"You have quite a collection," Nathaniel comments.

"They belong to Jen, Bella, and Dakota," I reply.

"So, you checked based on the material here?" he asks.

"Yes, well, I did what I could." Where is he going with this?

"Did you mark these sections?" he persists.

"No, Jen did," I answer honestly.

"She is very methodical. All of the appropriate sections have been flagged. When did she mark it?" I don't know if this curiosity is normal or dangerous for the girls.

"Um, she just recently marked them. Why do you ask?" I am going to get some answers before I give any more.

"I just wanted to know if she knew it was coming, because that impacts how the spell will affect her," Nathaniel assures me. Maybe I should have talked to Bella and Dakota a bit before I sent them off to bed.

"I wish…" I start to say, but Nathaniel launches himself across the room to slap his hand on my mouth.

"I realize that as a vampire, clearly you are new to the whole immortal thing. However, you should only ever say that if you want a faerie to appear," the Healer explains in a whisper.

"Do you hear wind chimes?" I ask, distracted.

"Oh no, too late," Nathaniel groans.

My children and wife join us in a flash. They all look as confused as I do. The chimes get louder and louder. Nathaniel places his fingers on his temples like he is getting a headache. Some kind of pale cloud appears. It looks like it was tie-dyed with pastel colors. The cloud grows to fill the room to where we cannot see past our noses. I reach out and take Emse's hand in mine. The cloud dissipates as quickly as it appeared and the chimes finally stop. Standing before us is what looks like a little girl in pigtails and wearing a pink tutu. She has butterfly-like wings that have swirls of pinks and a tiara. To complete the whole image, she is holding in her right hand a glittery wand with a star that contains even more glitter on its top.

"Hello to you all! I am glad to meet you. My name is Sara," the tiny girl sings to us.

"That's not going to get confusing at all," Rosalie states.

"Hello. If you don't mind my asking, what are you?" Alice asks tentatively.

"I'm a pixie of course," Sara sweetly answers.

"I'm…confused," Emmett comments.

"Oh, you are vampires, aren't you? Let me explain then. By saying 'I wish' you call a faerie to you. Faeries can only use magic to grant wishes and we must stay with the one that calls us until they make a certain number of wishes," she explains to us.

"Didn't you say you were a pixie?" Emmett inquires.

"I am a pixie. That's what a girl faerie is called, silly. Boy faeries are called leprechauns," Sara wrinkles her nose at my son.

"How many wishes does Carlisle get?" Rosalie interrupts her husband's guffaws.

"They can't tell you that," Nathaniel sighs.

"So they just hang around, granting whatever you wish for?" Jasper asks quietly.

"Well, not really, I'm afraid. There are a few restrictions. For example, if you were to wish for that witch to be cured, I couldn't do that. Even though I completely want to, she is magically wounded and can only be fully healed by a Healer or the one who cursed her. I mean, I'm not a genie. Their magic is completely unlimited," Sara informs us all, not just Jasper.

"I don't understand you reaction," I tell Nathaniel.

"Well, Sara is sweet, but not all faeries are like that," he starts to answer.

"It's sad, but true," Sara adds.

"The fact is, faeries are dominated by one of two things. One is a sweet disposition that makes them caring and careful to grant the wish you _mean_, not necessarily what you _say_. The other is vengeful disposition that makes them grant what you _say_ in such a way as you do not want it at all and they get amusement from it. The first ones number about one for every eight of the second ones. A faerie like Sara is rare," Nathaniel finishes his answer. You learn something new every day around here.


	33. Diagnosis

**CARLISLE**

I get wishes. This will take some careful consideration. At least Sara is a good faerie. I don't have to worry about specific wording or malicious intent by the faerie. Everyone is looking at me like they expect me to make many wishes in a row. That would be foolish. There is one thing though.

"Sara, I do have a wish," I tell her.

"What is it honey?" she looks at me expectantly.

"I wish that everyone that requires rest is well rested," I make my first wish.

"Ooo, I like that wish! You are looking out for others. I knew you had a good heart," she exclaims, clapping her hands and bouncing a little.

Sara raises her wand above her head and twirls around on her toes. She waves her wand and a twinkling sound fills the room. Pale pink shimmers rain down amid Sara's childlike giggles.

**BELLA**

I feel rested the way that only magic can make you feel. Who used magic to help us? I should just be happy about it. Heading back downstairs, I run into everyone else that is not a vampire. That is odd, but we all just run with it. Eliot rushes in front of us. He has every right to push and shove, not that he actually is pushing and shoving. Somehow we all make it down the stairs without incident.

There is a pixie in Jen's room. That explains the well-rested feeling. I wonder who she is granting wishes for. It has to be a vampire because any other immortal knows better than to utter the words that call a faerie to them. The vast majority of faeries are terrible creatures that should have their wings tore off so that they cannot go to anyone. Wishes are dangerous things. This one looks like a sweet little girl and we are all fine. I'm going to say that Carlisle is the one who made the wish and he got so lucky with the pixie that responded to his wish. I am going to have to have that discussion that every immortal should have about phrases and actions to avoid. We don't want genies or gnomes or fiends running around our safe houses. Infestations are extremely painful to take care of.

"Hello! My name is Sara," the pixie bounces as she says.

"What a coincidence, my name is Sarah. Mine has an H at the end," Sarah answers.

"Mine does not. That's a good way to tell us apart, though you don't hear the H," Sara looks a little sad that things will be confusing.

"Don't worry about it, we'll make it work," Dakota rushes to assure her.

"Where's Nathaniel?" I completely change the topic.

"Over here," he answers from next to Jen. What is he doing?

"Okay, I think this place is a little crowded. Let us know what the verdict is," Nestalia says as she drags Jake with her out of the room.

"Same here, I'll show the new Sara to her suite," Sarah adds.

"We should start our own research of other immortals," Jasper comments as he ushers all of the Cullen family, except Carlisle, out. He was always good at discretion and giving people their space.

Nathaniel is still examining Jen. He does not look like he has good news. I was afraid it would be this way. She was hit by a particularly nasty curse. What if she can't be fixed? What will I do?

"Well, I have a diagnosis," Nathaniel breaks through my thoughts.

"Is it good?" I ask him.

"It's more of a mix bag. The good part is that she can be healed. The bad part is that I can't heal her," he informs us.

"I'm confused. If you can't heal her, and you are a Healer, then who can?" Eliot just looks so sad.

"Bella told me that she sent the curse that hit Jen," Nathaniel starts.

"It was an accident. I was aiming for a terrible vampire that we were hunting and Edward knocked my arm at the last moment. I couldn't stop it," I interrupt to explain.

"Be that as it may, due to the curse you used I cannot Heal her. It seems that you were angry when you cast the curse," Nathaniel tries to tell me gently.

"Yeah, at Jane," I am the one who is now confused. Where is this going?

"And Edward," Carlisle adds.

"Well, yeah I guess. He completely reverted and refused to accept my magic and my ability to use it," I respond.

"Well, I take it Jane is dead?" Nathaniel inquires.

"Yes, I took care of her after Edward backed off," I inform him.

"Okay, the way to heal Jen is to reconcile with those you were angry with when casting the curse. Jane is gone, so any residual magic would have gone with her. Edward, however, is still alive. So the residual magic concerning him is what is keeping Jen in this state," Nathaniel uses his firm, Healer tone.

"So, if I ever want Jen to be okay, I have to hash everything out with Edward?"

"It's not so black and white, I'm afraid. Sometimes it just means that you have to get past your anger. Sometimes it means that you have to actually come to some sort of agreement with the person you were angry with. I don't know what to tell you, Bella. I just know that you at least need to try…" the poor guy just trails off.

"And if I don't work on reconciling with Edward, not that I am considering it because I am not, then what? Will she stay this way indefinitely or will it eventually wear off?" I can't help but ask.

"Then she will stay this way and you will have to live your life. Hunting will be different. Your friends might grow apart. Eliot will probably not be able to even be in the same room as you. She will stay the same, but life will go on," Nathaniel tells me the consequences that I already knew.

"Jen is my best friend. She is loyal to the point of death. I could not really consider her my friend if I were not as loyal. I just have some stuff to deal with in regards to Edward. I don't know if I can handle that discussion right now. I'm sorry, Eliot," I say as I head out for a walk.

This is not fair. I don't even know where to start. Edward is infuriating. But I still love him. HE refuses to grow at all in regards to me. I am not the precious little porcelain doll that he needs to protect. I can totally take care of myself. But I still love him. I just don't know if I can be with him. A snapping sound catches my attention. I have been walking in circles in a clearing while my mind has been running its own circles. I turn to look at Edward as he emerges from the tree line. Of course he followed me. I guess we really will have to hash it all out now.

"You followed me," I state instead of greeting him.

"You seemed really upset," he explains.

"Are you sure that is the only reason that you followed me?" I press him.

"What do you mean?" he seems a little confused.

"I'm a powerful Hunter, Edward. I can defend myself if something comes out of nowhere," I inform him.

"I know that. Really, I do. I just wanted to make sure that you were okay," he sadly says.

"I see," I raise one eyebrow at him to get him to continue.

"Look, I know that I should have let you take care of Jane yourself. But she was attacking you and my instinct just took over. I acted before I even thought," he tries to explain away his actions.

"You interfered with my job. I can completely handle myself in a fight and you refuse to see that. Why can't you accept that I am now on equal footing with you?" I shout at him.

"It's hard for vampires to change. I just need time," he whines.

"Edward, if you can't grow, then I can't be in a relationship with you. I don't even know if I can be around you," I tell him.

"Don't you love me?" He's getting desperate.

"I love you, Edward. But that does not change anything. You still lied to me when you left. You still made the decision to end _our_ relationship without discussing it with me at all. You still took your entire family with you, even my best friend at the time, Alice. You still barged back into my life. And now, you still refuse to accept the fact that I have grown into my own. I am not that desperate, clumsy girl that went along with whatever you say anymore. I have my own voice and I use it. I love you, I just don't know if we can be together anymore."


	34. Inevitability

**EDWARD**

I don't know what to do. She's looking at me like she is waiting for something. She loves me, but she doesn't know if we should be together. I should say something to keep her. I can't survive without her. She can't function with my constant interference in her affairs. A relationship can only work if the two involved are equals. Strike that. A relationship can only work if the two know and act like they are equals. I love her. I should be able to do this. It's hard, of course, but I should be able to do this. Why can't I accept her new abilities?

"Please, Bella. I know things are rough between us. I should not have lied. I should have talked with you about our relationship back in Forks. There is so much that I should have done, but didn't. I understand that you have come into your own. I'm just having issues changing my own behavior. I am trying. Please, just give me time. Work with me. I can change. I love you and I don't want to lose you again," I plead with her. She looks skeptical.

"Edward, a relationship is not feasible while we are in this place," Bella tells me.

"Just give us time," I beg. I'm not proud. I will do whatever it takes to get her to be open to the possibility of us again.

"It goes against my better judgment, but I guess one more chance won't kill me," she caves.

"That is all I am asking for. I will make this time different, I promise," I assure her.

"Be careful with that phrase, you have used it before," she warns me.

"Believe me, this is going to be different," I respond.

"We shall see," she says as she fades away in blue dust.

**BELLA**

I can't believe that I caved so easily. It should have taken much more than that. Love makes you do things you wouldn't normally though. I know it will be hard, a real uphill battle, but I know that if he is willing to really and truly try this time I will help him on the way. I am an idiot. Love has made me an idiot. I know that Edward and I will hit the same wall again and yet I still caved. I know this is going to be painful and yet I'm doing it anyway.

I phase to Jen's room. Eliot, Carlisle, Dakota, and Nathaniel all give me curious looks. I can't hold back a sneer. It's not their fault that I am spineless when it comes to Edward. They go about their business. Jen looks the same. Her monitors tell me that she is still the same. I sigh rather loudly.

"These things take time," Nathaniel tries to reassure me.

"I take it you had a talk with Edward," Carlisle comments.

"Yeah, I totally caved," I answer.

"Are you still angry with him?" Dakota asks.

"No, I'm just frustrated with myself," I tell her.

"Love makes fools of us all," Eliot smiles at me.

"Have you been breaking out the fortune cookies again?" I tease him.

"There's the Bella we all harass on a regular basis," Dakota giggles.

Jen starts to stir a bit. Eliot is holding her hand and softly talking to her. Her eyes flutter open and look right into his. Because I and such a girl at times like this, I start to tear up a bit. Dakota is right there with me. The scene is just so heart wrenching. All the drama I just went through was totally worth it if Edward and I reach that point too. Eliot leans in and kisses his wife. She just looks so happy right now. Then, Jen looks towards Dakota and I.

"Hey guys," she says, exercising her vocal muscles.

"Hey Jen," we say together.

"Did I miss anything earth shattering?" she asks.

"I talked with Edward," I tell her.

"I met Nathaniel," Dakota says as she winks at the Healer.

"Everything is working out then," Jen replies as she sits up with Eliot's help.

"Now, now. You have to take it easy. I'm Nathaniel, a Healer. You can't just jump back into the saddle. That curse really threw you for a loop," Nathaniel tells her.

"I'm really sorry about that, by the way," I add.

"Don't worry about it darlin'. I knew it was coming and the important thing is that you are working on things with Edward. Trust me when I tell you that nothing compares to a functional, loving relationship," Jen dismisses my apology while smiling up at her own love.

I know that she is completely right. It gives me hope. I can't even make myself annoyed about my apparent inability to just let Edward go. Not very much could bring this group down for too long.

"I don't know if this is the best time, but I had a vision and we are going to get two visitors in the next couple of days," our Seer informs us.

"I take it by the way you say that, that you don't see who they both are," Jen comments.

"Well, one is a banshee, but I can't see the other. There's a whole in the vision, so it might be a vampire or a nymph or another member of Jake's tribe…" she trials off.

"A banshee? We don't know any banshees particularly well," I reply.

"I do. It might be Jamie. We've been friends since before I presented," Nathaniel explains.

"It is a guy banshee," Dakota affirms.

"Banshee is not a gender specific word in reality," I tell Carlisle, who looks like he is out at sea.

"I see," he takes it all in stride.

"It could be Jamie, but we should all be on our guard anyway. I think we might be in for quite the surprise with the other guest," Jen thinks out loud.

Everyone seems antsy this morning. The knock finally comes at the front door. Dakota pops up to go and get it. Emmett and Jasper follow after me as I go to the front door too. On the other side is a banshee. He is tall and lanky with pale green streaks in his blonde hair. A smile tentatively spreads on his gorgeous face.

"Hi, I'm Jamie," he tells us quietly.

"Nathaniel is downstairs checking on a friend of ours. Please, come in," Dakota gently says. Jamie throws off the rabbit vibe in the sense that he might bolt at any sudden movement or loud noise.

"You are kinda quiet for a banshee," Emmett comments.

"That's a misdemeanor. Banshees can be of a quiet nature, just like a vampire can be of a boisterous nature," Jamie almost whispers he is so quiet. We all chuckle at his statement. Boisterous is putting Emmett lightly.

Dakota and I lead Jamie downstairs to his friend. We hear laughter before we even get to the bottom of the stairs. The reason for the laughter is apparent when we get in the room. Eliot has purple dust all over him and is trying to give Jen a stern look. Jen looks angelic in response. Nathaniel and Carlisle are supporting themselves so they don't fall on the floor. It's like when you catch toddlers in some impossible situation that is really messy, you have to decide whether or not you really want to know what lead up to it. I'm not sure that I want to know.

"Hey Jamie! I'm glad it was you in the vision," Nathaniel greets his friend through his laughter.

"Since when do you get the Sight? You can barely function with normal sight," Jamie teases. Who knew the boy had it in him? Maybe he has to be comfortable around you in order for him to let go.

"I didn't have the vision, genius. Dakota did," Nathaniel rolls his eyes. They still grin at each other, so I know this is just their thing. Is this what Jen, Dakota and I look like to others?


	35. Odd Company

**BELLA**

If waiting for Jamie had created an antsy atmosphere, waiting for the unknown visitor is outright stressful. Emmett drums his fingers until Rosalie slpas her hand on top of his. Alice suddenly sits up straight.

"No way!" she shouts in disbelief when her vision ends.

"I don't believe it," Edward adds his two cents worth as he reads his sister's mind.

"How about filling in those of us who don't see the future or read minds?" I ask.

"I know who is coming, and you are _never_ going to believe me," Alice tells us all.

"Try us," Emmett responds.

"It's…" is as far as Alice gets before we hear a knock at the door.

I get up to answer it. Edward sticks to my side. I give him a questioning look and he just shrugs at me. So much for working on communication between us, I roll my eyes. The sight at the other side of the door renders me temporarily speechless.

"Excuse me, I'm looking for the team of Hunters after the Volturi," the vampire informs us.

"But…but… you are one of the leaders of the Volturi, Marcus," I stammer in disbelief. Alice was right. I would not have believed that Marcus would pay us a visit.

"I don't mean to be rude and correct you, but I am no longer attached to the Volturi in any way. When the Hunters took out Chelsea, her hold on my loyalty was broken," Marcus explains.

"I'm sorry. I'm the one being rude. Come in and make yourself at home. We each have questions that we want answered," I usher him into the sitting room as Eliot helps his wife into a chair. Jen takes the appearance of Marcus in stride, like I knew she would.

"Hello, my name is Jen," she greets our guest. Introductions of everyone else follow.

"Now, I think that I heard you ask a question. Would you mind repeating it?" Jen starts the conversation.

"Not at all. You see, I am looking for the team of Hunters that is taking care of the Volturi problem," he obliges.

"I'm sure you can see why we are a little confused by that desire," Carlisle states.

"You see, I was once a very voluntary member of the Volturi. Aro and I were rather close. I was his right hand man and most trusted advisor for a time. We lived like that for only a few years. Aro's desire for power is insatiable, was even then. It was one of the traits enhanced when he became a vampire. He felt that since he had a particular ability to see a person's, or vampire's, every thought they have ever had, that a blood relation might have the same power. He turned his sister, Didyme, into a vampire in order to use her power to make the Volturi stronger. As it turned out she did have a power, but not the same one that Aro had and hoped for in her. Didyme had the power to make others happy. It was like she carried around an aura of good that affected everyone lucky enough to enjoy her company. We fell in love and were married. One day I found her pieces burning in our room. Ever since then, it was only through Chelsea that I stayed with the Volturi at all," Marcus weaves his sad tale.

"That is awful," Sara says as she goes over to pat the mourning vampire's shoulder to comfort him.

"Well, you are in luck Marcus. We are the team that is going after the Volturi," Jen tells him. Her instincts must be telling her that we can trust Marcus. That's good enough for me.

"The question is, why did you want to find us?" I ask my own question.

"I want to know if you have any information about what happened to my beloved. Plus, I don't like being kept somewhere against my will so I want to help you if I can," Marcus says.

"I'm sorry, but that was before most of us were born. We don't have any information for our lives as vampires," Carlisle answers for the Cullens.

"That goes for everyone I think. Well, expect for Jen of course," I answer for the rest of the immortals.

"I was around for that, but I don't know if you really should hear what I know," Jen answers for herself.

"I want to know what happened to my wife. Please, tell me the truth," Marcus pleads. Jen sighs as she decides to tell him.

"Well, okay I will, but don't say that I didn't warn you. I was gathering information to take back to the Council on how the Volturi were doing when I heard Aro arguing with his sister. She was telling him that she was in love with you and you were in love with her. Aro seemed to at least tolerate that part. Then she told him that you both wanted out so that you could live together where you didn't have to worry about his power trips. Aro's lust for power overrode his brotherly instincts and he stuck her down. The aftermath was what you saw. Aro had to get rid of her, to keep you in line with him," Jen tries to tell Marcus gently.

"After her death, I was so distraught that I almost left anyway," Marcus interjects.

"So, what lead you here in your search?" Jen inquires.

"I was following this banshee…" he starts to explain.

"You know about the other immortals?" Carlisle sounds as surprised as the other vampires look.

"Well, yes. We had the Council erase every vampire's memory about other immortals except for the three of us, of course. Even their wives were wiped," Marcus answers the good doctor.

"The question that remains is, what you are going to do with the information I just gave you," Jen asks what I want to know the most.

"Well, I think it only right for me to avenge my love. I know Aro could not help himself, but that is no excuse for his actions. She was his sister for heaven's sake. I'm going after him myself," Marcus vents.

"Not by yourself you are not. We will go after Aro as a team, when the time is right. First we have to take out the two wives and then Caius so that Aro is completely alone at the end," I tell him firmly.

"What are your ideas for that?" Marcus reveals his curiosity in perhaps the first display of emotion that I have ever heard of him showing.


	36. Wives

**BELLA**

Marcus wanted to kill Aro's wife because Aro had killed his. Okay, he also wants to take down Aro himself, but I don't know how well that will go over. Jen seems to be leaning towards letting Marcus take a couple of the Cullen family members and take care of Sulpicia. I'm not sure is he will stop with just her though. It's entirely possible that he will go on a rampage. Chelsea's influence served as a sort of dam for Marcus' mourning. The poor guy never got a chance to move past the death of his one true love.

"Bella, what do you think?" Jen interrupts my thoughts.

"About what?" I ask stupidly.

"I told you she had checked out," Dakota giggles.

"I did not doubt you," Jen assures her in mock seriousness.

"Of course you didn't, I have the Sight," Dakota actually stick her nose in the air.

"I didn't doubt you because it was totally obvious," Jen rolls her eyes.

"Okay, we all agree that I zoned out. Now, what do I think about what?" I sigh at their antics.

"Dakota was telling us about her plans," Jen informs me.

"Plans for what?" I inquire.

"Wow you were out there for awhile," Jen comments.

"Nathaniel and I want to see where our connection goes, but his work takes him all over the place," Dakota explains to me.

"Oh, so he is heading out?" I am so confused.

"He's not leaving right now. He wants to stay and teach Carlisle, but there are others that need his set of skills. I think I might go with him and Bethany," Dakota just drops the bomb.

"I think that she should pursue the possibility. I mean, she and Nathaniel have a natural chemistry and if it blossoms into love, it will totally be worth it. I know that I never regret my decision to pursue my feelings with Nathaniel," Jen gets a little gleam in her eyes.

"I agree with Jen. We will miss you, but I am sure we will see each other very often," I add.

"You are both right. I'm glad you support me instead of look out for your own interests like the last witch I traveled with," Dakota says.

"Not to get off topic, but has anyone seen Marcus? Or Edward?" I ask them.

"Come to think of it, I haven't seen Jasper or Emmett for awhile either," Jen comments.

**EDWARD**

Marcus tried to sneak out, but my brothers and I saw him. We decided to follow him. Bella would want us to keep an eye on Marcus. The witches seem to believe that he is not loyal to the Volturi anymore, but I am not so convinced. Okay, Carlisle believes the story because he spent time with the Volturi and heard the tragic story of Didyme before. I just think that there is something odd about how Marcus just showed up out of nowhere to tell us about his story. Jasper seems to agree with me in his own quiet way. Emmett, on the other hand, always believes the best of a person until given proof otherwise. Even with proof, he needs there to be a lot. I mean, look at his chosen mate. Rosalie is family, but she can be quite the bitch. Anyway, Marcus is thinking about enacting his revenge on Aro, not that I blame him there. If Aro had killed my Bella, I would do the same thing. We are catching up to Marcus as he is slowing down for some reason.

"Hello, boys. Having a nice run?" Marcus greets us.

"It certainly is enlightening so far," I answer.

"If you are here to stop me, then I suggest you get to it because I fully intend on getting my revenge. Didyme deserves to be avenged," Marcus is fierce when he says this.

"We aren't here to stop you, dude," Emmett booms.

"We are here to help you," Jasper adds.

"Are you really?" Marcus seems confused by our intent.

"We might not be fully convinced that you are not loyal to the Volturi anymore, but we do understand how you are feeling. I know that we all would want to get back of the one who kills one of our mates," I explain.

"I see, then you should know that I want to have Aro see her suffer," Marcus gets a hateful look in his eye when he talks about Aro.

We all go forward. Marcus is focusing on his plan in his thoughts. I'm not gonna lie, he is more than a little vindictive at this point. The part that troubles me is that his planning ends with the death of Sulpicia. He is not even looking past that a little, maybe Aro's reaction. Nothing, his mind is solely consumed with how he is going to make her suffer for her mate's crime. Normally this kind of thought pattern reveals itself in those who have a martyr complex, but Marcus does not really consider himself a sacrifice for the betterment of anything. He just wants to make Aro pay for killing Didyme. Marcus might be tending towards suicidal in his plan. It's very hard to kill yourself if you are a vampire.

Jasper looks at me to get my attention. His thoughts show me that rage is not the only thing that Marcus is feeling. Marcus is also feeling a sort of finality that is fitting. Maybe he does know a way to take his own life. Jasper thinks that we should let him because after this task, Marcus thinks he has nothing else to live for.

We make it to the hiding place that Aro chose for his bride. She is alone it would seem. There had been vampires here, guarding her, but they are gone by now. Jasper's take on the emotional situation tells me that Sulpicia is sad, but has accepted her fate. Her thoughts tell me the same story. Marcus leaps through her window and the three of us follow. Sulpicia just looks at us, completely quiet.

"I see you are alone," Marcus comments.

"I sent away my guard," she simply states.

"Why would you do such a thing?" he presses her.

"I sent them away so that you could enact your revenge. You see, Aro told me what he did, but I could not leave him. You are familiar with that I am sure, Marcus. I have witnessed the damage the Volturi have wrought and been disgusted with myself for doing nothing to stop it. Once the influence of Chelsea was gone, Aro was certain that I would leave him. Little did he know that I have a much more… fitting idea in mind for him. He killed his own sister to keep you in the fold, if you will. His fate should include a taste of the pain he has brought to others. Don't worry Marcus. I know he deserves whatever is coming his way. I also know that since I said nothing to try and stop the havoc. I deserve my own fate. Do with me what you will, I will not fight you. First I should tell you something though. Athenodora feels the same way that I do. She, on the other hand, has decided to take a more active role in her fate," Sulpicia explains.

"So you are ready for the fate I bring, even though it is death," Marcus accepts her statement as truth. She just nods at him.

Marcus lunges forward and takes off an arm. Sulpicia staggers, but stands straight for the next attack. Marcus refuses to fell even remotely bad for his victim and takes the other arm. There is a fire already going in the fireplace. She really was ready for this. Both arms are snapping in the flames. Marcus wants to ask her if she can feel the flames starting to lick her flesh. Her face betrays that she can. Sulpicia is in so much pain, but she remains stoic because she genuinely believes that she deserves this. Marcus leaps at Sulpicia and pins her to the ground where he starts tearing pieces off and throwing them in the fire. A scream of agony escapes Sulpicia's carefully upheld mask. Soon, the work is over and Marcus just stands there, watching as his handy work goes up in smoke. Then he does something unexpected, but not surprising. He jumps into the flames and lets them consume him. Emmett tries to go for him, but Jasper and I hold him back. Marcus' time on this earth was over and he wanted to decide his own fate. Once there was nothing left of our temporary ally, my brothers and I headed back to the safe house. Athenodora is our current concern. What did Sulpicia mean?

**BELLA**

Marcus snuck out. I am not surprised. The vampire had a lot on his to-do list. At least Edward, Emmett, and Jasper are following him to make sure that he doesn't run into too much trouble on his quest. They don't think that we saw this coming. I mean, seriously. We have a witch and a vampire that can see the future. Oh, well, Alice saw that Marcus was going to take his own life. There is nothing that can be done. If he wants it badly enough, and he does, then he will find a way no matter what.

A knock interrupts my thoughts. How many visitors are we going to get? I though this place was a secret location. Sighing, I get up to answer the door. Out of nowhere, Dakota and Eliot are at my side. Opening the door I find out why. Athenodora is on the other side.

"I want you to kill me," she tells us. She sure doesn't waste time.

"Uh, why?" I stammer.

"Please just do it, I don't have much time before Caius notices that I am missing," she rushes. Then she seems to give up on that approach and lunges at us like she ios attacking us.

Instinct just took over. All three of us sent different curses her way. Mine made her suffer from little flames that go out shortly after they start. Dakota's makes her grow ugly in a painful, bones cracking to re-arrange themselves kind of way. Eliot's is the most potent and cuts her to pieces. Looking at the pieces, Eliot sets them ablazewith green flames. That was not the weirdest thing I have experienced, but it definitely ranks up there. A crash inside the house distracts us from our pondering the vampires erratic behavior.


	37. Time Out

**BELLA**

The crashing just keeps going until we get to the game room and find out what is causing it. Rosalie and Sarah are launching anything and everything that they can reach at each other. Fantastic, like we don't already have enough drama.

"YOU BITCH, STAY AWAY FROM MY MAN!" Rosalie bellows as the TV goes flying.

"YOU ARE THE BITCH! HE DESERVES SOMEONE WHO CAN ACTUALLY SATISFY HIS NEEDS!" Sarah shoots back at her opponent along with a recliner.

"Honey, I make him crazy with the want for more play time," Rosalie says, the acid of her tone joining the table that goes flying.

I guess we all knew it was coming, but that does not negate the entertainment factor. Those of us present in the house, minus Carlisle, Bethany, and Nathaniel who are holed up in the sound proof study with the door closed, are just sitting and watching. Jen just shakes her head and holds Eliot's hand. Occasionally a piece of furniture needs to be deflected, but for the most part we listen and hope that they don't actually kill each other.

"What you mean is you leave him wanting," Sarah adopts an acidic tone to match Rosalie's. I wonder what will happen when they run out of furniture.

"Bitch I know you did not just say that," Rosalie retaliates with one of the couches.

"Bitch you need to accept the fact that you are not sexy enough to handle someone like Emmett," Sarah attacks Rosalie's vanity. The three study buddies decide to join us.

"You say that like you are," Rosalie snorts as another couch learns to fly. That is the last of the furniture unless they go to throwing pieces they have already destroyed.

"You know I am. Why not let him decide who is better suited to make him happy?" Sarah smirks. Board games fly off shelves in both directions. They lapse into quiet during the barrage.

**EMMETT**

Monopoly money and Clue cards are raining down. What the hell is going on? I look around to see Rosie and Sarah glare at each other and then slowly turn to look at me. Uh-oh, why are they looking at me like that? Rosie has that look on her face that says I had better not screw up. What is there to screw up? Sarah, on the other hand, looks like a regular angry vixen. She is attractive….my palm slaps my forehead as I realize what is going on. They are fighting over me. Those two are the only ones that can look at me. Everyone else seems to be trying very hard not to laugh out loud and break the silence. I do the only thing I can do in a situation like this, turn on my heel and head for the suite that Jen showed us to that first night. Rosalie can hold her own and Sarah doesn't seem too delicate. Why get involved in a girl fight when you don't have to? I mean, girls fight dirty and I don't want to have to re-attach anything that I am fond of…

**BELLA**

How we manage to get through the part where Emmett walked in and realized what was going on without cracking up, I will never know. But we do manage it. Sarah stalks to her suite and Rosalie struts to the suite she shares with Emmett, no doubt to enjoy her spoils.

"We'll be happy to replace everything that was damaged," Carlisle looks at us apologetically.

"Don't worry about it," Jen assures him. She winks.

Suddenly things start glowing purple, green, blue, pink, red, and yellow as they fix themselves. Pieces connect and the breaks vanish. In no time everything is exactly how it was before the outburst. Those of us with magical abilities survey our work to make sure that it is all taken care of. It never hurts to double check.

"That's impressive," Esme comments as she looks around.

"It's all in a day's work," I reply, smiling.

"Now, I take it Marcus took care of Aro's mate and then himself?" Jen turns her attention on Edward and Jasper.

"Yes, but Athenodora might be dropping by," Edward responds.

"She has already been here," I inform him.

"We took care of it," Eliot adds.

"The question at hand is how to take care of Caius," Jen thinks out loud.

"I thought you already had a great idea about that," I say.

"I do like that plan, but I am open to other options," Jen says.

"What's the plan?" Jake interrupts. Jen Dakota and I look at him and grin.

**CARLISLE**

I head to the suite that Rosalie and Emmett share. She is not going to be happy, but she needs to have some sort of consequence for her actions. The furniture was magically mended so she doesn't even have to pay damages. We all discussed it and Rosalie and Sarah are being put in 'time out' as Jen and Bella call it. They think that if the two acted like toddlers fighting over a toy, then they should get the same punishment that toddlers get. I think that theory is great, but I'm sure Rosalie won't see the humor. There are only a few going to take care of Caius. Jen's idea is genius.

"I wish there was someone else to tell Rosalie about her punishment," I mutter.

"I can see why you would wish for that," Sara poofs out of her cloud right next to me. Before I can do or say anything she grants my wish…twice.

There before us is a short, slightly pudgy man wearing a Hawaiian shirt with Bermuda shorts. His coarse, unruly, bright blue hair stands straight up on his head with no visible form of hair gel to aid it. Next to him is an equally short man with white hair and beard. This man is wearing a pointed hat and reminds me of a lawn gnome.

"Hello, Sara," the man with the hat greets the pixie.

"Hello John and Charlie," she bounces. They all turn to look at me.

"I am John, the gnome and this is Charlie, the troll. We specialize in giving odious omens and the like," the gnome introduces them both.

"Hello to you both. I'm afraid I wasn't thinking when I wished for you though. I can handle telling the bad news to my daughter," I inform them.

"Happens more times than it doesn't," Charlie gruffly dismisses me. He looks to Sara who whisks them away.

"You really should be careful with that phrase," she sweetly scolds me. I smile and shake my head. I turn to face the door in front of me and can't hold in my sigh as I knock.

"Come on in man," Emmett booms. That boy can only do loud, but we all love him for his boisterous nature. I go in to talk to two of my children.

"Rosalie, I need to talk to you," I start.

"I know Carlisle, I shouldn't have acted out like that. She just made me so angry," Rosalie fumes.

"I'm glad that you understand that, but that does not change the fact that you did a lot of damage," I continue.

"I will totally pay for the stuff that was broken," she assures me.

"I'm not worried about that. The witches took care of everything. However, you cannot be near Sarah or go on a mission until you can control your temper a little better," I tell her.

"Carlisle, I've really been working on my temper," she whines a little.

"Again, that does not change the fact that you should probably stay in your suite for awhile. Sarah is friends with Jen and Bella, you can't expect them to kick her out for teasing you," I state firmly.

"So, wait, are you saying that she is being put in time out?" Emmett laughs at this.

**JAKE**

I don't know how this happened, but I totally love it. I might not be team leader, but I do get to strike fear into the dead heart of a wretched vampire. Caius totally deserves this. His fear of werewolves is going to bite him right on his ass. I mean that completely metaphorically, I'm not really going to bite his ass. Bella and Dakota are the only ones that came with me. Jen needs to rest and Eliot refuses to leave her side. The rest have other stuff to do, you know, besides babysitting Rosalie and Sarah to make sure they don't kill each other.

Tonight is the full moon, which is why we chose tonight to make our move. Caius is hiding out in terror. Okay, he might just be trying to cover his ass, but still. We go through yet more trees. Man, who knew there could be so many trees on one trip. They make me miss my Nessie. Finally we are arriving. It looks like he is in some sort of really old castle, brilliant hiding place by the way. The three of us ghost through the halls. Caius is cowering in a grand room that fortunately has big windows. Dakota and Bella stick to the shadows while I step out. The cloud cover breaks and a single beam of moonlight hits me. That's my cue.

Phasing is not as painful as it was at first. The terror that consumes Caius's face is really satisfying. I'm not sure that is healthy, but I am just going to go with it for now. I add a howl for good measure. He tries to make a run for it. I leap at him and sink my teeth into one of his calves. There is a tearing sound as that leg separates from his body. He screams in agony. Bella steps out and deftly catches the limb I send her way. It catches flame in her hand.

"Was taking my mate's life not enough for you?" the vampire cries out.

"For your information, she sought us out in her quest to get away from you," Bella sneers. I go after his other leg and also remove that from his body.

"What?" he just does not seem to wrap his mind around that. I send the leg towards Bella.

"She couldn't stand to be around you and found the only way to get away was to end her own life," Dakota informs him as she gracefully intercepts the limb and sets in ablaze in her hand.

"What have I ever done to deserve this?" Caius can't be serious. I can't hold back the bark-like snicker that receives a whining noise from my victim.

"The real question is, what haven't you done to deserve your fate?" Bella bites at him.

I tear the rest of him to pieces while he screams and tries in vain to fight me off. The girls take turns reducing the various pieces to ash.


	38. An End

**BELLA**

There is only one left, Aro. We leave him to wallow in his well-deserved loneliness for a few weeks while Jen slowly recovers. She wants to be there for the final death of this Hunt. I can understand that. There is something about an ending, especially for this Hunt. There has been so much that has happened. I mean, I run into the Cullen family a good fifty years after they walked out of my life. We worked everything out though, so that is good. Edward and I have a shaky agreement about our feelings. He takes me on a couple of picnics that don't end in disaster while we wait for the final strike. There are a few things that we are working on, but what relationship is ever completely issue-free?

Nathaniel unloaded his very extensive medical knowledge on Carlisle the first two weeks. Yeah, that didn't take long because Carlisle does not need sleep and Nathaniel apparently gets to the point where he is so driven that he can go for a few days. Well, that and Carlisle used one of his wished to gain instant medical knowledge of a species the first time he sees it. Good wish, but it was completely unintentional. It's funny how well that worked out for him this time. Carlisle used all twelve of his wishes completely by accident.

Sarah and Rosalie have some sort of weird truce thing going on. No one is really sure how it works, but it does. They have not had a second outburst. Whatever it takes I guess. Actually, Sarah and Jamie are hitting it off really well. They are even planning to record an album of duets. That banshee sure can sing. I'm just glad that Sarah found someone that was not Emmett. Anyway, Jamie followed her back to her tour.

Esme has really bonded with Bethany. That is a little surprising. Bethany does not really take to a lot of people. They bake up a storm and keep us fully supplied with their experiments, most of which are delicious. There was that one kind of cookie though. I gag just thinking about it.

Leah and Eli headed out to the Rez to visit the descendants of their family lines through relatives. Jake and Nestalia went with them. Actually, right before the two couples left, Leah and Nestalia found out that they are pregnant. I think Leah wants to experience her first pregnancy in the place that is most familiar to her. Nestalia wants to be with her family for the majority of her pregnancy with her own mother so that she can ask about any issues that arise. Jake wants to see Leah to the Rez first as she is a part of his pack.

Besides Nathaniel, it's down to just us witches and the Cullen family. Even though our number has diminished, the house still seems full. That must be because for years at a time it is just Jen, Dakota, myself, and the occasional witch in training.

The fateful night finally arrives. Jen, Dakota and I are the only ones going to take care of the Aro problem. Edward promised met that he would stay at the safe house and I believe him. The three of us go back to the residence that Aro built for his government, for lack of a better word. The residence is eerie. If we didn't know he was holed up in his quarters, it would look like the place was abandoned long ago.

After what seems like endless hallways, we make it to the door we are looking for. Jen wanted to take this one differently than Hunts we have done before, so she knocks on the door before we enter the room and see the defiant form of Aro standing by the window, looking down on his grounds.

"It seems that you finally came to finish off the Volturi," he snidely greets us.

"We have come to end a tyrannical reign. The Volturi grew reckless and now are paying the price for that arrogance," Jen calmly corrects him.

"You will not kill me. I am meant to rule," he continues with his delusion.

"You will not survive this night," I inform him. He turns to look at us.

"You are mistaken about that my dear. I will raise a new, more powerful vampire army," he has that crazy look in his eyes.

"No vampire will follow you," Jen tries to get his fate through to him.

"I misspoke, apologies. I now have grander designs. Immortals of all kinds will flock to be a part of my new regime. I don't know why I never thought of it before. Nothing is more powerful than a united, immortal force," Aro rants. Jen and I look at each other and then back at him.

"He's not going to get it," Dakota sighs.

"You are right there. We should just get on with it," Jen says.

We all draw our magical swords. Jen takes one leg while I take the other. Aor falls on the ground, giggling like a fool.

"This will make a great start for my triumphal second rise. The tale will regale all immortals alike for generations," he shouts out. I think he cracked under the pressure.

Dakota starts a pink blaze for us to put the pieces in before she lunges for an arm. The deranged vampire only laughs harder at the separation of another limb. For someone who plans on 'rising again to power,' he sure does not want to actually do any fighting to get there. He is just taking our punishment. There is no active attempt on his part to get out of this situation, not that there is a way out, but still. I go for his other arm. All four appendages are sizzling when he speaks up again.

"You are all powerful witches. Perhaps you should join me," he comments.

"What world are you living in?" I ask, not really expecting an answer.

"We are all in the world that I will one day soon rule," he answers me. For some reason, I am just not surprised by his insane answer.

Jen sighs as she takes his head off and tosses it in the fire. I grab the torso and throw it in too. We just didn't have the heart to torture him too much. Even though he caused a lot of pain to a lot of people and vampires, he was just so unhinged tonight. Putting that vampire in as much pain as he deserved, while he was in that condition, would have been like shoving a rabid puppy into traffic because it bit someone. There is just no way that we could justify that kind of action on our part.

We vacate the residence before it goes up in purple, blue, and pink flames. While we watch the last remnants of the Volturi turn to ash, this Hunt comes to its end. For all the twists and turns we encountered and experienced, the end came mere months from the day we were approached to do it.

**A/N: The next one is up and I am adding to it. The title is A New Age. Thanks for reading!**


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